What is it?- DIY self diagnosis
- How we can help
- Want to know more?
- PTSD Information Video
- Personal experiences
What is it?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder which may develop following exposure to any one of a variety of traumatic events that involve actual or threatened death, or serious injury.
The event may be witnessed rather than directly experienced, and even learning about it may be sufficient if the persons involved are family members or close friends. Sufferers may experience flashbacks, panic attacks and heightened awareness. PTSD is sometimes found in ex-military personnel who have been involved in conflict situations.
DIY self diagnosis
If you can answer YES to most of the questions it is likely that you are affected by PTSD.
- Have you ever experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, for example, rape, shooting, car accident etc.?
- Do you frequently get upset whilst thinking about a traumatic event?
- Do you experience “flashbacks” in which you feel as if you are re-living a traumatic event?
- Do you feel emotionally numb or on edge due to experiencing a traumatic event?
- Are you aware of avoiding doing things that remind you of a traumatic event?
Anxiety UK strongly advises that people seek further information and guidance from their GP who will be able to make a formal diagnosis.
How we can help
Anxiety UK is a user-led charity with more than forty years experience in supporting those living with anxiety. By becoming a member of Anxiety UK, you will have access to a range of benefits, including:
- Access to reduced cost therapy within two weeks of submitting your therapy request
- Access to our helpline (available Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm) staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety
- Receipt of four issues of Anxious Times, our quarterly members” magazine
- Access to the members only section of our website, featuring regular support surgeries facilitated by anxiety experts
- Access to specialist helplines, including the psychiatric pharmacy helpline and the psychology information helpline
And many, many other benefits that will help you manage your anxiety long term. To become a member of Anxiety UK click here or ring 08444 775 774 today.
Want more information?
The Anxiety UK site has information on a range of resources to provide more detailed information and help.
Anxiety UK Publications
- Anxiety UK publishes a fact sheet and tapes dealing with post traumatic stress disorder available from the Anxiety UK online shop
Recommended reading
“Overcoming Traumatic Stress” is a self help guide based on cognitive behavioural therapy. It provides techniques on how to cope when dealing with a trauma. One reader has reviewed the book and said:
“As a sufferer of PTSD this book made me realise I was not “crazy” or “abnormal.” My body and mind were just trying to cope with the truama that had been inflicted upon it. It gives logical and rational advice to help rebuild a life following a traumatic experience, be it a car accident, being kidnapped, or raped. The step by step guides to recovery serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come towards recovery, and allow you, perhaps for the first time, to start laying the bricks to build the path to recovery. The authors are to be commended on this amazing piece of literature.”
You can order this book from the Anxiety UK online shop by clicking here.
Recommended web sites
|
Anxiety UK relies on donations to keep its services running. If you found this information useful please make a donation – no amount is too small.
|
 |
PTSD Information Video
Find out how PTSD can affect people’s lives, how they cope and how it can be treated on the NHS Choices website.
Personal experience
Do you suffer from PTSD and want to share your experience with other people? Post your personal experience in the comments box below where it will be sent to our moderator for approval. Many people find this part of the site very useful when trying to understand their disorder so your comments really do make a difference. Please note, all comments submitted to the Anxiety UK website may be used by Anxiety UK for (but not limited to) publicity and promotional material.
If you would like to make contact with others who are living with similar experiences, you can do so via the Anxiety UK Pen-Pals scheme which is a service available to all Anxiety UK members (in both electronic and hard copy format).
I was involved in a road traffic accident involving my 11 year old daughter.
A car drove into us head on and as a result, 3 of the passengers were killed. This happened 16 months ago and I was referred by my GP to the local psychiatry dept. I have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have been having cognitive therapy which I would recommend to anyone feeling like they are in a big black hole which they cannot climb out of. It is not a quick fix program but it enables you to look at the highs and lows of your life- not your existence as I used to. Only then can you come to some form of understanding of yourself. At times the sessions can be distressing but from this I have learnt how to begin to understand my thoughts, feelings, actions and beliefs and to put them into context with regards to my life.
Tracey
hi im not sure if i have this iv got to go back and see my docotr and maybe have another medical done on the 7th of june last year not long after passing my CBT i felt confident enought to motor cycle into towen on my own and sods law i had a big van smah into the side of me drag me up the road then knock me over i was lucky i had bad bruising to my legs and whiplash i suffered from night mares after im so scared to ride again iv got rid of my bike even when im on the back of my partners i start to panic to the point i wont go on with him im so scared im gonna get hit again i start tensing up feeling sick and my viser is wet from where my breathing has got really bad and i get i horrible pain between my shoulders near my neck ( which i was told if i get stressed i will get ) i can be walking on the paverment and if i see a big van i move as far away from the road as i can if one is going fast on a road i get visions of myself or someone being hit the driver who hit me admitted liability i would rather this had never happened he ruined my dream i had from a young age of riding a motorbike :( i feel im not a safe driver now thats why i sold my bike i wont drive cause i dont weant to panic and cause a accident to someone else
I was very moved by the comments and experiences of all the contributors above. I work at a school and witnessed one of our young pupils killed in a road accident. After the event, I thought I was doing okay but the worried looks and comments of my colleagues and friends suggested otherwise. I found it increasingly difficult to sleep for more than a couple of hours and had no appetite, I would also find that anything related to accidents and children would reduce me to tears. Eventually I went back to my incredibly sympathetic GP who prescribed Citalopram and referred me to a counsellor. If people question you please remember the following; you have been through a traumatic experience that has already happened and has completely stressed you out, it is therefore a post traumatic stress disorder. If your GP is unsympathetic then try and find another, if your boss is unsympathetic then take union advice. You and your family/friends will get you through this. Be strong
i am amazed. i thought i literally was the only one suffering from ptsd due to work bullying. my twitter account is doobwhatsit. anyone in a similar situation, please come and say hello x
Hi,
I don’t know if I have PTSD but I was thinking to share my story since I haven’t really told or talk to anyone about it.
Five years ago someone in my family had a very violent death and I was there,saw everything.I must say it did affect me a lot.After that incident I refused to talk to people for a long time(or maybe I just couldn’t) and my only comfort was my dog,but she died not long after,and after that my parents divorce came along.All this happend in less than 4 months and it was a lot to digest.At 17(at that time I was just a teenager so everything felt twice harder),and after all those events my mom suffered a breakdown,and I had to be there for her and my younger brother who was 12.It was hard,but I did it.
I had to deal with depression,insomnia,nightmares,and I didn’t look for any help,because I thought that there’s no way someone would understand the situation unless they’ve been through same situation or close to it.
I did tried to talk once with a friend who is in the army,but I dropped it because for him it was very hard talking about stuff like this since he witnessed his friend’s death in Iraq.
And even after all this time is still hard to recall that day,but I am trying my best to live with it.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. There is help available through Anxiety UK, such as our counselling service. If you take a look at the Get Help section of our website, information can be found there.
Best wishes
Hi
I was recently diagnosed with ptsd and bery recently on waiting list for a psych. my GP encouraged me to talk to her about what had happened. After seeing her for ~6 months, I started to really trust her and I told her everything and she was really good about it in the session.
However, I;ve noticed that since then, she’s been really different with me and doesnt seem to want me to speak to her about it. She also started making my appointments much less regular (despite my condition getting worse) and I think she doesnt care about me anymore.
I’m not sure whether shes doing this because she’s a GP (but she has been encouraging me to tell her for the last 6mnths so i dont think its this) or because she thinks its my fault, that im a bad person (etc) or because she doesnt believe me…or because she dislikes me
i really trusted her and she was one of few people i speak to and that knows my ‘secret’ so this is really stressful for me and its making me slightly suicidal << i wouldnt tell her that its making me suicidal though.
Theres defo a very big change and im not being paranoid. :'(
im nowhere near seeing a psych yet so it cant be that.
do you think i should ask her and if so, how do i say it without sounding ungrateful?
any views appreciated (even if you think im being ungrateful) :)
thanks
Hi Anonymous,
This sounds to me like normal practise. Your GP’s done the right thing in giving you 6 months to talk. Now she’s taking the next phase of the role which is to encourage you to find any therapy or strength you need from other sources. The problem with PTSD is that it doesn’t resolve that easily. In fact the NHS regard it as incurable. It isn’t, but you need to come to terms with the incident that caused the problem.
A couple of possibilities for help. First & cheapest, there’s a very good book called “Waking the Tiger” by Peter Levine & Ann Frederick. Well wort borrowing from your local library or even buying yourself a copy so you can pencil notes in the margins as you read. Seond is to have time with a specialist therapist. Have a look at the website http://www.tir.org/practitioners/europe_middleast.html & see if you can book an appointment with one of these folks. They really can help.
All the very best.
Hi there,
I can say I know many things about doctors,and what I can tell is that the reason she acts like that is probably because she thinks you are getting better(this is one of the reasons why dr do that).
I totally understand you,as I suffered of PTSD and I know how hard is to get over.All I can say is try to think positive and maybe talk to your doctor and tell her how you truly feel.
Good look and hope I was usefull.
I have just been diagnosed with ptsd after an incident that ocurred in late 2011; I was alone, asleep in the house when a man broke in. First thing I knew was the light being switched on and the man with a carving knife. He came to steal, he threatened me, he tried to rape me. We fought, I got the knife off him, getting my hand cut and covering everything in blood in the process. I eventually shut him out of the bedroom, and called the police. They went to the wrong house. He ran off, they arrived and they have been fantastic ever since. The man has been caught and the hearings are in process. I cannot praise the police enough, and I have had the most incredible support, from my partner, friends, Victim Support, The Haven…
But I am not all right. This is the second time I have had to sign off work, and my employers have not been very supportive throughout all this, I am worried that my work record is in jeopardy. I get panic attacks and breathlessness, very vivid nightmares; when I see people who dress like the man, or hear the accent (very strong South East London) I need to get away. I wake all the time, my throat closes up and sometimes I am nauseous. I keep wanting to just leave the house and keep walking, for good or something like that, but I am always tired. I have never liked knives, now I practice cutting meat, so that I will never be awkward or scared of a knife again. It’s ridiculous. It reminds me of the point where I was facing him,trying to work out in my head if I had it in me to strike him down. Horrible.
I never want to feel helpless again. I never want to scream again and not be heard. And if I have to fight, I want to be able to fight with such confidence I never feel this terror again. People say I won because I got the knife off him, because he wasn’t able to rape me. I appreciate how lucky I have been. But I don’t feel right at all.
Thanks to whoever reads this for hearing me.
Hi Lily,
First, I’m really sorry to hear this has happened. You have been through an incident from hell & somehow you’ve survived & amazingly you’ve even had the strength to hold something of your life together.
You said this was late 2011. How long ago? It’s just that it takes several months for something of this nature to begin to resolve, or even show what direction it’s likely to take if it doesn’t do so immediately.
You say the police have been really supportive. There’s something else they may be able to do as well, which is to refer you to a counsellor. You need someone to listen, not judge or advise but simply listen whilst you share & come to your own resolution about this. A good counsellor will be able to do this in a really helpful way.
As for your work, few workplaces are likely even to understand let alone offer any support. Business seems to have forgotten the economic value of people & all they do is demand that we turn up 100% fit & leave everything else outside the door, just as if we were machines. So apart from a few trusted colleagues, it’s unlikely anyone else will offer any form of support there. It’s simply switch off & do, though admittedly many people use that very environment to escape the memory for 8 hours a day & that in itself can be therapuetic.
It’s never going to be easy, but there are indications that you’re going to gain the strength in the next few months to overcome all these problems. The first is that you’ve been able to share this. That in itself is amazing. Well done! The second is your determination to continue fighting. You found the stength to fight when it happened and now there’s a mental & emotional fight to face, which like the original fight might make you fear you’re not going to win, but you did win against all the odds in the first round i.e. in the physical fight and I think you have the will & determination to win this round too – the mental & emotional fight. Not feeling right is just an indication that there’s still more to do.
I hope that helps. I believe that in a year you’ll not only be stronger but you’ll be more sure of the amazing reserves of strength you have already demonstrated.
I know how hard is to talk with people about the things you’ve been through.But think about this…you’ve got nice people around you who support you and are near you no matter what.And if you think that this will help,get some boxing lessons or self defence lessons.Maybe that will help you feel more confident .
I am just coming to the realisation that I may have been living with PTSD for most of my life. I was run over when I was 5 and since then I have found certain things very difficult. I don’t have a memory of the accident itself, just the moments around it but I was conscious the whole time.
Then five years ago I was in a relationship where I suffered prolonged abuse. I was raped every day for the last three months of our relationship. I was alone in France with him where I didn’t speak the language and hadn’t built up any friendships. I couldn’t talk about it for many years and it is only now that I am in a relationship again with a man who is patient, kind and caring that I can start to look at why I react to things the way I do.
I have recently started therapy and it has been very hard, tiring and emotional. Whilst I still feel in the pit, I am now able to believe that there is light at the end and that I don’t have to avoid doing thinsg and going places to stay safe and unjudged.
Hi Dzerjb
Thank you for your encouragement and your comments. It happened at the end of November 2012, so it is good to know that I’m not being weak or silly in still feeling its effects. Thank you for telling me that.
I have been seeing a counsellor, and recently had an appraisal with a psychiatrist who wants me to go see him again the day after tomorrow, but I am reluctant, I don’t really know why. I don’t want to feel like a machine that needs fixing if the right spare part can be found. This week seems crammed with stuff about the incident. I have forms to fill in from work, they haven’t given me information about my income which I really need to know so I have to physically go to my bank and sort it out. The hearing at which the perpetrator is meant to give their plea was adjourned to this coming friday, at which point I am expecting a call from the Crown Prosecution Service on the subject of trial/charges brought or dropped…just stuff. I need to go to the doctor’s very soon if I wish to stay signed off; my GP has already said they are happy to do this, but my employers will be very difficult with me.
And all I want to do is get dressed, walk out the front door and keep walking until I find somewhere I feel peaceful.
Thank you again for your words, they make me feel much better.
Lily
Hi Lily,
I enjoyed hearing your confident, pragmatic tone in response to such trauma and am pleased you survived such a horrific incident. Congratulations on being so strong!
When I read your concern about being a ‘machine to be fixed’, reluctance to see the psychiatrist and wanting to just get better I chimed in. Perhaps I can help: I developed PTSD symptoms when I was 21 and I felt perhaps similar feelings, I didnt want to see therapists and I sought practical, unemotional solutions, if any. I couldnt believe what was happening, as it was delayed onset, and it struck me as ridiculous when I perceived myself as privileged, fortunate young person. I went to 6 psychologists before one was pragmatic yet intelligent and sensitive enough.
You have experienced a trauma that will have altered your brain chemistry to produce PTSD. In my opinion, it is best to see if someone can help you rebalance and it may take a while to find that person.
There are researched ways of dealing with this that can help you. EMDR helped me greatly to handle the memory of being chased and threatened with death with a crow bar. When I was sexually abused by an alternative therapies “therapist” (recommended by some second cousins!) my psychologist gave me boundary-making therapy where I pushed him (a very tall man) away with cushions. He increased pressure and I pushed harder and harder, always pushing him away. This in combination with boxing would surely help. If you are wanting to shut away your feelings, another mental exercise I did to confront things was descending a staircase into a cellar and opening the door, what do you find? Whatever it is, find a good therapist to talk to about it :) !
Above all, you are wonderfully strong, and opening yourself to therapies is part of your strength!
Reading Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth maybe help you find inner peace, I never thought I would read a self-help book, but this is really good. and not really ‘self-help’.
Best of luck xxx
Hi Anonymous
Thank you for your kind, practical words; I find your experiences of therapy and recommendations very interesting.
My attacker is in prison. I have been working with a psychiatrist using EMDR to desensitize me to certain flashback images. It does work, I stopped doing it because there are so many images, I thought I would be in therapy for the next decade! The flashbacks no longer intrude on me out of nowhere, they only happen if I see something reminiscent. Some days ago I had a panic attack because I saw an image of a woman on TV holding her hands up, blood covered, in the same position I held mine when the wound bled down. I panicked, hid, cried, felt stupid. But things like this are happening less.
I don’t really deserve your commendations about being pragmatic and strong; things got very difficult. My employers had never been supportive throughout the event. I came back from sick leave, they handed me my notice. Then I got a visit from a man who claimed to have met my attacker in prison – he said the victim had got a grand kicking from the other inmates. The whole thing was surreal! I told the police, who said they knew who it was, and they would have a word with him. I am to dial 999 if he ever contacts me again.
Right now, I feel strangely blank and tired all the time. I try to make plans, but my head is empty. It’s hard for me to leave the house, not because I’m scared but there’s this weariness. Zumba awaits me this evening – it’s important I go, just to make myself move.
So thank you for your thoughts, they come at a timely moment. I will look out for ‘A New Earth.’
Finally, please let me applaud your for your own strength, and the generosity of spirit that led you to write to me. Respect and best wishes
Lily
Hi Lily,
I’m sorry somebody strange contacted you like that. At least it is recognised by the police and you have routes for protection. I was abused by a member of my family (the main source of trauma for me) and the rest of my family were so oblivious/neglectful they threatened to cut off my ‘inheritance’ if I didnt ‘make it up’ with my abuser! And the police (who I finally realised I could contact when I was 15) could only offer me a restraining order which would have made things worse for everyone in my family. I moved away instead (and was still blamed for making things difficult.)
In terms of the exhaustion and blankness I recognise this. I was always hugely energetic, positive, busy. When PTSD started to develop I could barely do anything – i failed my exams at university, could barely read a book and walking 15min down the road would leave me breathless and dizzy. I ate more to try and manufacture energy, went to the gym every other day and did yoga but it didnt help. I was pretty oblivious to other peoples feelings too and felt painfully depressed or numb.
This is because (i think, but im no doctor) you, underneath it all, are in a hyper-aroused state, continuously stressed, ready for handling danger and it is exhausting your body. You may not feel ‘stressed’ like you do in a scary moment or a flashback, but I think there is an underlying tension that is hardly detectable but has a massive effect on your whole brain chemistry.
The good news is that with the right treatment and time, this will be very much reduced. like a cramp is painful you just have to relax to let it pass. You have to let your life slow down for now and just make arrangements to cope as well as possible. Your head may be empty right now but slowly the life will trickle back into you, all I can say is give it time, relax and keep being treated by someone you like. If you ever feel suicidal (which may happen) recognise it is a symptom of your condition, not an urge that needs to be acted on.
That is a real shame your work are so awful and unsupportive. You can take action against that if it is discriminatory. You will find other work and dont let their malpractise make you feel personally attacked. They are bad business people!
Thank you for applauding my ‘strength’- I find it very therapeutic and strengthening to write to you! And I am just as weak as anyone else, I’ve just had a bit more practise writing and thinking about problems.
Because you feel down, exhausted etc you will think you aren’t worthy of praise or that you are strong. They fact is you are coping with something very difficult and extraordinary and you have to give yourself as much credit and encouragement as possible. One therapist said ‘imagine you are speaking to your 11year old self’ when I was being angry at my uselessness. Or maybe just imagine you are speaking to someone else – like me, who you just praised.
I hope this isnt too long! I also hope Zumba went well.
I assure you, you will find more work. For now you may need to take time, keep looking for a good therapist and do whatever you can to relax. This might mean baths, sleeping in, not doing much or reading books you like, everyone’s different.
I am happy if anything I say is of use!
Best of luck,
Sophie
Thank you C, I really feel that you may be right. I am looking into boxing at the moment.
I also did boxing for 2 and a half years and it helped me feel secure…..Happy to be of help:)
My friend was shot in Kurdistan when he was 14yrs old. Hes now 45yr old and suffers constant nightmares about death and seeing people killed. He went to GP who gave him sleeping pills. He needs help not tablets
Hi Alison
I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It must be truly frustrating if the only help offered seems to be to just blank everything out, and I wish I had something constructive to offer, but I am just a lay person, with no real experience. So please forgive me if I say something ignorant. I mean well.
Has your friend considered counselling? It can be very hit and miss, and it can take ages to find the right counselling, but if he asks for it, his GP can refer him, and at least get the ball rolling.
I hope your friend finds some peace of mind, and an end to his nightmares. Having a friend like you, who cares about him so much must help.
Hi Alison
This must be very distressing for you and your friend. I would strongly recommend your friend to speak to a counsellor or a therapist who is trained to deal with PTSD and anxiety. I would also recommend the “Overcoming Traumatic Stress by Claudia Herbert and Ann Wetmore” to you and your friend. The book is full of excellent explanation and techniques that you pick up to manage the anxiety etc, and you don’t necessarily have to read the whole book. Please also visit our Get Help for more information on the support and help available to you and your friend.
Best wishes
Andy
my boyfriend killed himself in 96 and by 98 my father also did the same , i was kinda of fine for years and then last year it all come back like it just happened yesterday ,i remember things that i thought that had forgotten, it herts to the core , i feels like someone died last week yet it happened 16 and 14v years ago , i have stages when im fine and i think ive got better then bang it comes back like a tone of bricks , why is that ? this has been going on for a year and a half now and i still feel like shit almost every day , i went threw a stage where i blamed my dad for taking the lime light from my boyfriend , i feel like i could end it all if i wasnt for my kids being here , am i ever gonna get better ? i feel like i want .
Hi Maxine.
I totally understand how you feel…I watched my best friend die and couldn’t do anything about it.Happend almost 6 years ago,but for me it feels like it happend yesterday.
And I think it’s the same with everyone who went through situations like this…to feel alright and then not to…is it normal…it’s part of being human.
My advice for you is to look at the bright side …try to count your blessings;try to stay positive and try to keep yourself busy…it’s working for me.That way,I don’t have time to think about it.
And the thing is that you can’t move on until you let go of the past.Letting go is the easy part.It’s the moving on that’s painfull…and at some point we all have to let go and move on,because no matter how painfull it is,it’s the only way to grow.
Hi Sophie
Everything you say is of use!
In particular, what you mention about this hyper-aroused ready-for-danger state of near exhaustion really resonates with me. I am flat and tired.
Sometimes the thought does creep into my head that it would be a lot less trouble not to be around. But I try to keep your comment in mind, that the emptiness will pass, and life will trickle back in. Right now, it all seems so slow.
You understand so much. Are you a counsellor? A pity for some if you are not, because your insights are tremendously helpful.
I am so sorry that you never had the kind of support and protection you needed and should have had, and marvel at your strength in coming this far over such protracted pain. How extraordinary that someone who was given so little now gives out so much. Thank you for that.
Wishing you the very best
Lily
Hi Lily,
No I’m not a councillor but I’ve considered it! I used to give my mum advice from when I was 11 and she was leaving my dad and getting her car smashed up by my brother!
Absolutely the life will trickle back in, because this is a reaction you are processing. Your body needs time just like if you were fighting an infection. That’s why we call it ‘mental illness’ and why there is nothing wrong with getting professional help.
I’ve had a friend commit suicide and I know that for the person it truly seems the best thing, so I wasn’t sad for him, but I knew he could have recovered and no matter how useless he thought he was it destroyed his family and damaged his friends irreparably! so as hard as it can seem at the time you have to hold on -for everyone’s sake- because that state of mind doesnt remain and you will be so thankful for every sunny moment and smile once you come out of a blackness like that.
The thing that stopped me going too far down that road when i first developed ptsd was a car accident! The physical pain (I had liquid food for a week and facial stitches) distracted me from the immense mental pain! Its relevant because i think physical stimuli might help when youre no longer able to think, whether it’s to relieve (not necessarily escape-that takes time) depression or distract from that sense of petrified hyper vigilance, it could be swimming (lots of tactile sensation) boxing or another sport, maybe acupuncture maybe regular massage maybe a holiday in the sun
-anything to distract you physically from this state of numbness/ anxiety.
Remember this deadness you feel is a ‘reaction’. You just have to be kind to yourself in dealing with your body’s reaction. open yourself to help wether its books and ideas or physical things and new experiences, everyone is different just don’t give up on yourself because you are an important human life and it’s great that you have survived this experience.
I am really no doctor or councillor so as much as i enjoy trying to help my words cant be as helpful as what is out there, so i hope you find someone who really knows what they are talking about to give you professional advice.
Best of luck, if I ever become I councillor I will have you to thank :)
Sophie