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Default Nov 03, 2019 at 10:49 AM
  #1
I've heard that people with PTSD have flash backs and/or nightmares about a particular event. That does not describe my situation. Can you have a particularly traumatic event and not really want to talk about about it or even think about it without it being considered PTSD?
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Default Nov 03, 2019 at 12:12 PM
  #2
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Originally Posted by Twitch99 View Post
I've heard that people with PTSD have flash backs and/or nightmares about a particular event. That does not describe my situation. Can you have a particularly traumatic event and not really want to talk about about it or even think about it without it being considered PTSD?
in simple terms PTSD just means a person has a set of symptoms that are because of either going through a trauma their self, witnessing a trauma or being very close friend/ family member of someone who has recently gone through a trauma, or the person is a first responder to a trauma like a firefighter, soldier, medics,

example many people have nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, depression, memory problems and how they react after being in a car accident, or abuse of some kind or a natural disaster or in recent years all these school shooting cases going on.

most people who have PTSD ………...in general...………..go through periods of time where they talk about what happened and bounce into not being able to talk about what happened.

example when I witnessed a trauma this caused me to have nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, depression and have memory problems. at first all I could do was talk about it to who ever asked "how are you?" I was totally shocked that something like this trauma (wont post what the traumatic event was due to triggering others ) would happen in a hospital ER right there in front of me to the person next to me. it was like instinct to run off at the mouth telling people what happened. but then eventually things slowed down to where logic kicked back in and my shock response eased, then I didn't want to and couldn't talk to others about it. I just wanted to get on with my life and get through and things back to normal. then I hit another stage in PTSD where it was time to talk about it again with my treatment providers, working out ways that I would be able to feel safe again.

theres no requirement that a person Must talk about their trauma's this is now a personal choice and what will help each person be able to get through what happened to them and be able to move on with their lives.

my suggestion is talk with your treatment providers about this and they will help you to decide whether talking about your traumatic events is necessary for you to do.
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Default Nov 03, 2019 at 02:56 PM
  #3
Thank you for that. I guess my follow up question would be how can I experience the same thing so many other people yet I seem to be the only so scarred by it? Am i just weaker than everyone else?

The example you used of a school shooting. I witnessed the same thing everyone else did, yet only me and a small number of other people are so traumatized by this that we can't get over it.
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Default Nov 04, 2019 at 09:01 AM
  #4
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Thank you for that. I guess my follow up question would be how can I experience the same thing so many other people yet I seem to be the only so scarred by it? Am i just weaker than everyone else?

The example you used of a school shooting. I witnessed the same thing everyone else did, yet only me and a small number of other people are so traumatized by this that we can't get over it.
no you are not weaker than anyone else. human beings are not clones of each other, each person has their own triggers, life style, health issues, cultures. even how one is raised will sometimes factor in whether a person has PTSD problems or not.

example I was raised in my native American culture so for me its not a trigger when I encounter wild animals. I enjoy being out in nature and doing things like camping and other be in touch with nature activities, where as my neighbor was not raised in native American culture, she is not comfortable with wild animals or camping or bugs... for her encountering a bear would cause her to have PTSD (nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks and other PTSD problems) I encounter a bear and I calmly take a pic and slowly walk backwards and go on with my normal life. this does not make her weaker or me stronger. it just speaks to the fact that wild life is not one of my triggers because I was raised in a culture that honors and respects the wild animals. not fear them.

my point is you just have a different body, mind, life and experiences and health issues that others may not have, you may have triggers that others do not have. it doesn't make you weaker than someone else.
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Default Nov 12, 2019 at 11:40 PM
  #5
As it was explained to me, experiencing a traumatic incident doesn't immediately mean one will have issues with PTSD. Whether or not our brain can process the trauma does. If it can't, we get "stuck", and so relive the trauma, never getting past it. How we relive it is individual. Not having nightmares, not having flashbacks, doesn't mean you DON'T have PTSD. Only a trained therapist can help figure out that thorny subject. Having it, isn't a sign of weakness. It only means, whether due to biology, hereditary factors, past traumas, or other unknowns, you are stuck; can't process what happened.

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Default Nov 14, 2019 at 10:17 AM
  #6
@Kathleen83 thank you for that. I have always thought of PTSD as having flash backs and terrifying nightmares. That's the biggest reason I've had a problem accepting my diagnosis. I don't have flash backs to my incident nor do I suffer from nightmares about it. What you have told me makes much more sense.
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Default Nov 17, 2019 at 11:15 PM
  #7
I'm glad I was of some help, Twitch99. Even when we are on the same path, our journeys are as different as we are, as individuals. Here's hoping you find success on your journey!

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Default Nov 19, 2019 at 11:58 AM
  #8
PTSD for me means I ruminate about the experience (there are childhood traumas, but in this post I'm referring to being the victim of a home invasion). I think about it over and over every day, and when I hear certain sounds I go right back to the trauma I experienced.

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