# Anxiety Disorders > Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) >  >  Question for those with PTSD

## Chantellabella

I'm just wondering when the triggers end.
Or the jumping at noises.

I wonder if it takes feeling safe.
Or feeling like we can trust people. 

I'm just getting tired of having PTSD symptoms.

Anybody feel they've overcome the symptoms?
How long have you had it?
What do you think gets in the way of completely recovering?

Guess I just don't want to feel alone in this struggle.

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## Chantellabella

Guess 125 people had no answer, huh? 

Oh well. 

It was a stupid question anyway.

Technically it was more than one question.

They may have been what threw you guys off.

Maybe nobody here has PTSD.

That's a possibility

I've already tried to talk to people about my real diagnosis, but that was a bust too.

I'm going to go watch Gilligan's Island now.

That's a show with real problems.

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## Member11

:Hug: 

I saw your questions, but I didn't know how to best answer them. I do have a mild form of PTSD from the years of bullying I had to go through, among other things. I do get triggered from some words and actions people can do, which can make me go completely quiet, make me cry, or make me distrusting and paranoid. I never really distrusted people automatically, unless they use a word or action that triggers me. I feel that exposure therapy has helped me.

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## Chantellabella

Thanks Jerry for reading and offering suggestions.  :Hug:

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## Crylie

As you prob know I suffer from PTSD and it's ruined so many aspects of my life, and makes good things/people in my life hard to work with. Lots of things trigger me and a lot of things are unknown to me. So like, I could be having a totally fine time with my boyfriend and then suddenly something that I had no idea would trigger me suddenly does, and I turn into a different person. Sometimes it's just gnarly panic attacks where I say mean things about myself or the person I'm with and get really aggressive. Other times I'll just be trying to sleep or rest and I suddenly get a sick feeling in my stomach and have flashbacks about men who have abused me or scared me or hurt me. And I can't like....move on. Every day I'm mad about the same [BEEP] and I don't CHOOSE this, it just happens. And my family/boyfriend try to understand but I am guilted by knowing that it's tiresome for them to not be able to understand why I'm always upset and why "everything" seems to bother me.

PTSD is one of my worst conditions; it's hard than the general anxiety and the aspergers and even harder than the ADHD. I know how you feel!

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## Crylie

> I saw your questions, but I didn't know how to best answer them. I do have a mild form of PTSD from the years of bullying I had to go through, among other things. I do get triggered from some words and actions people can do, which can make me go completely quiet, make me cry, or make me distrusting and paranoid. I never really distrusted people automatically, unless they use a word or action that triggers me. I feel that exposure therapy has helped me.




My EMDR therapist has mentioned exposure therapy but the whole thought scares me so bad. I don't know what it is, what happens with exposure therapy? Like, I don't even know how that would work or what they would do to me or anything.

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## Member11

> As you prob know I suffer from PTSD and it's ruined so many aspects of my life, and makes good things/people in my life hard to work with. Lots of things trigger me and a lot of things are unknown to me. So like, I could be having a totally fine time with my boyfriend and then suddenly something that I had no idea would trigger me suddenly does, and I turn into a different person. Sometimes it's just gnarly panic attacks where I say mean things about myself or the person I'm with and get really aggressive. Other times I'll just be trying to sleep or rest and I suddenly get a sick feeling in my stomach and have flashbacks about men who have abused me or scared me or hurt me. And I can't like....move on. Every day I'm mad about the same [BEEP] and I don't CHOOSE this, it just happens. And my family/boyfriend try to understand but I am guilted by knowing that it's tiresome for them to not be able to understand why I'm always upset and why "everything" seems to bother me.



Of course you didn't choose any of it, don't let anyone make you think otherwise  :Hug: 

As someone who has been on both sides, don't let the guilt you feel about your family and boyfriend get to you and make you push them away. The thoughts you are having about them that is making you feel guilty is a part of the PTSD and are wrong. They love you and they want to support you, so let them.





> My EMDR therapist has mentioned exposure therapy but the whole thought scares me so bad. I don't know what it is, what happens with exposure therapy? Like, I don't even know how that would work or what they would do to me or anything.



I know it seems scary, but with exposure therapy you are safe throughout. What happens is you are expose to something that normally triggers you with your therapist, for example if you get triggered by a hug or being touched, exposure therapy could involve first touching hands, then holding hands, then arms, then standing close but not touching, etc, basically slowly building up to the moment where you normally get triggered with your therapist teaching you coping mechanisms. The most important part about it is that you remain in control of the process and you can stop at any time. The goal of it is to take away the unknown, make you feel safe again and in a way to train your body to not get triggered in those situations.

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## Crylie

Thank you so much for your kind words! EMDR seems very scary, but thank you for that clear-up. I am a bit worried still because things that trigger me are sexually graphic content and I kinda wonder how that would be with the therapist. Anything that's gonna help me at this point is something I'm willing to do.

But yea, PTSD has been hard and I understand and support everyone who has it.

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