<added by anthony: this thread has been split from unhelpful thinking styles within the anxiety forum>

Wow... thank you...
I'm guilty of many of those negative thinking patterns.

Really found that "persistance and hardwork" post really enlightening...
but I must ask... does dealing with this get easier over time???
Like... can I ever get to the point where I am PTSD symptom free?

PTSD symptom free? No... You will always have symptoms come and go, its just a matter of how well you manage them when they do. Currently, you may find it hard, and fall over as such, but with time and education, you learn to manage them better. Some management includes avoidance, avoidance of triggers and generally returning to the place of trauma. Returning to the place of trauma is generally only recommended by counsellors when you have reached a point within yourself, that the final hurdle you have with your trauma is seeing where it happened again. Many people will never return to their place of trauma, as the impact can be far to great for them. Some do, break down, have a good cry, and acknowledge to themselves it has happened, and can now move on. This is why I have said to piglet, returning to the place of trauma is hurting her more than anything else. I also understand that it must be hard when the place of trauma happens to be where your family is. Tough choice...

I appreciate the honesty...
so far I've either forgotten to ask the Doctors/or I don't get a straight answer about that.
All I've heard so far is that they feel I'm treatable... now that I think about it... they never once used the word cured.

I was actually given a very simlar worksheet on "negative thinking patterns"
everytime I caught myself have a "bad" thought I was supposed to log it in this journal type thing... I haven't found it to work that well yet... because even though I am identifying the thoughts... I just seem to have little control of having them.

I know it feels like you have little control, but you do actually have control. I have to tell myself the same thing at times, so don't beat yourself up over it. We all have too constantly tell ourselves, and argue with ourselves, the difference between what is real, and what is just in our head.

Yeah, it's like a fight with our own thoughts

I'm just very self-critical... you're right, I CAN control it,
just will take some more practice

I'm with you on that one. A lot of the time I feel like I'm at war with myself. Trouble is, logic says I can't win! On the other hand, I shouldn't be able to lose either. Maybe this battle is what DID is all about - the mind finding a solution to a no-win situation.

I had to use these methods more than ever when I posted the thread on implode or explode, as exactly what your saying I was going through at that time. It wasn't a long lasting thing though, as I thought about what was going on inside me, what my brain was telling me, then applied realism to it with the use of these tools and techniques. What your experiencing constantly, I used too also, until KNOWING within myself, not THINKING, that I was wrong and I HAD to think logically. When in doubt, ask for help from someone near you, and ask "is this a rational, or irrational decision / statement" and get their feedback from someone without PTSD.

key words and phrases which repeat themselves and are negative, look at what phrases and words you keep telling yourself, and when you see yourself repeating the negativities try changing the thought pattern, it can become like a groove in a record repeating itself at times, so take, for example , i am worthless and when you catch yourself thinking it, change it to the opposite, i am not worthless, doesnt seem to make much difference in the short term as you can think whats the point, but it does make a difference given time, reverse negative statements about self, or if that is too much then at first change them to less negative statements, ie, i am worthless to i am not as good as i could be, its a slow process of change reflected in self image and is an ingrained thought process that can be a pain to break out of , but persevere and it can make a real difference.

Wow! I read everything on this list. It fits so well. Many Docs have tried to get me to understand these patterns but I kept thinking I could just magically change myself without this knowledge. It is like looking in a mirror. I asked my husband to read this list and he laughed and said "it IS you". I wish I would have seen and understood these patterns a lot sooner as well as accepted that I have done this for years...Thank you sooo much!

I have seen this before. I was at a drug rehab, one of the counselors walked up to me and gave me a list of what were labeled "thought disorders". I read it, and said to him, "if you took all these away from me, I wouldn't have any thoughts left."
Best Wishes
LRS