fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3210 ]

[ SECRET POST #3210 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3210 ⌋

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

nvm, let's make it the third comment...

So I'm pretty sure that what happened to me yesterday was, like, 50% genuine fear for my friend and 50% a weirdly intense trauma flashback. But it just seemed so real back then. And I actually went and wrote a pretty desperate message to another friend of mine, which I'm kinda starting to regret. (although I did now tell them that I was having a flashback).

I mean, it's still not exactly normal and I do feel like I need to go back into therapy, but I also think I need advice on telling trauma-related stuff apart from non-trauma induced feelings. It'd make my life and the life of my friends easier.

Edited 2015-10-18 21:17 (UTC)

That's the problem with PTSD... It's often virtually impossible to tell when you're experiencing a relevant fear response or when you're being triggered by something.

If you find yourself suddenly anxious or panicking out of the blue, good rule of thumb is to confirm your state with other people and determine whether or not there is an immediate concern. Unfortunately, if there isn't anyone close by who knows about your situation and knows how to respond, then it isn't a very helpful piece of advice.

Some people find it helpful to have a routine to follow if they begin to panic or suspect they're having flashbacks (e.g. check the house, check the door, text a friend or significant other, pet the cat, try breathing exercises etc.)

Yeah, I... eh, try to protect my friends from my freak-outs, so there's no one who knows everything about my situation and very few people who know much. I'm not sure whom I could turn to for a sort of immediate reassuring response. I don't think there IS anyone, and that's sad.

That being said, yes, I believe some sort of routine would help. I'll have to think about what would be best!

I hope it works out. I'm sure I don't need to reiterate your thoughts about going back into therapy, but I also hope you manage to get that going soon as well.

Thankfully, we have free counselling as what is essentially a side bonus to my degree, so I don't think there will be any problems with that. I'm going to go make an appointment tomorrow.

Also, thank you so much for all the support and advice. F!s is basically the only place where I can get that, and I appreciate it immensely.

No need for that lol. Despite not giving a shit about trolling anons, I care a lot when people are having genuine problems and I consider it a reward if I'm able to provide information or a sympathetic ear.

f!s is one of the last bastions of lj culture after all, and the people are what make it.

I just wanna tell you, don't feel bad that you haven't got a person who knows everything about your situation. That's not sad, unless you're saying it makes you sad, which is valid. I mean, personally I compartmentalize a lot, and while I spill my emotions to some friends, they don't know everything. It gets emotionally exhausting/I don't want to burden them, etc. It's just what people tend to do when they have a lot they are dealing with.

But I hope you are feeling better now and can find a way to deal with those emotions if/when they come up again. Trauma and just feeling distraught over something is such a fine line, I don't think there's a crossing point. It just depends on how deeply you are affected by it or want to be. *offers random hugs*

Trauma feelings are real emotions. Just because they happened in the past doesn't mean you're not still currently feeling the effects. I think therapy would be a good idea.

On the other hand, those trauma feelings are unhelpful, and can have a negative impact on the sufferer's life. They feel real in the moment because it's a flashback, but they're not the truth about the current situation. Those emotions, turn anthills into Mt. Everest. Which is why it's a helpful skill to be able to differentiate between what is a healthy, normal response to something, and what is an inappropriate one.

/not a therapist, just go to one

I've had some noticeable differences in how I deal with flashbacks since doing CBT (I think the stuff I did was specifically for PTSD). I'm not sure how much it would help if I was having a bad episode or was already emotional about something (it hasn't stopped my panic attacks completely), but part of what I learned about was identifying how I would react to a situation that might trigger symptoms while I was in a calm state and what responses I might have if it brought up other stuff and how I would deal with it.

For about six months before my shrink suggested this, I was doing the exposure therapy stuff. You talk or write about something traumatic and talk about what feelings it brings up. Apparently this is a pretty common thing.
It actually made my symptoms worse. I don't mean worse for a while and then improved, I just mean flat out worse.

I do think going back into therapy is a good idea. I know it helped me a lot, even if it didn't magically fix things.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #3210 ]

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?

Re: Tips on differentiating between trauma flashbacks and "real" emotions?