Something I have stuck in my head and frustrates me, was from years ago news media talking about PTSD in regards to civilians. The conversation felt very dismissive as if it was not possible to suffer from PTSD unless they fought in a war.
recently I was diagnosed with CPTSD due to a horrific home life growing up. Anyway all this has compounded to were I feel like an outsider.
I know cptsd is somewhat common and I’m wondering if anyone remembers this narrative in the news, and if anyone with PTSD/CPTSD has felt similarly?
As a millennial growing up I definitely remember the narrative surrounding PTSD. Even for soldiers in war it was hard for the public to understand and wrap their heads around. Even in the late 90s/early 00s, mental health was still a very poorly understood subject in the public consciousness and was just beginning to get the attention it needs, and even though we have a ways to go in that aspect, we are far far better about it as a society than we were 25 years ago.
That said, I too was relatively recently diagnosed with CPTSD resulting from regular abuse as a child which along with undiagnosed autism contributed to feeling like an outsider growing up and even to this day. I am very selective of what I share about my personal mental health struggles publicly but I always advocate that only those experiencing these struggles can understand them and they need as much empathy as we (society) can spare.
I was diagnosed with CPTSD and made the mistake of telling my parents.
“You were never in the army you little liar, you’re just craving attention again. You’re grounded for 4 months. Your dinner is bread and water for the next 2 weeks”
Hmm I wonder where the CPTSD comes from? Don’t eat bread and water for 2 weeks you will have the most painful constipation of your entire life.
That’s awful. hope you were able to remove yourself from that situation, ive dropped all communication from my father.
I speak with my mother as she seems to of turned a leaf but last year I was talking with her about cptsd and she asked if she caused any of it, I was very honest and said she had a small part in (I didn’t live with my mother till my teens but when I moved there-was no heating, food or parenting happening as well as her manipulative/abusive partner I soon choose to sleep on a sofa at my grandparents for the next 8 years) I didn’t call my mother out on this as she started crying a lot and I took back what I said.
Trauma usually breeds trauma and her father was an alcoholic gambling Irish man so I understand that she wasn’t given the best chance in life and she now recognises this. I’m pretty proud of her tbf
Fellow CPTSD person here. Yes, it is in fact common in CPTSD treatment to start with validation that it doesn’t have to be combat to be PTSD. Anything that makes you powerless can cause PTSD and if it is sustained or pervasive it becomes more likely to be Complex PTSD.
For a long time people wouldnt admit PTSD existed in the military let alone outside of it.
People that dont believe its a thing unless youve been in a war have never been so unlucky to experience something that causes that sort of trauma. They’re fortunate.
Not diagnosed, but I’m pretty sure I’ve fought it a time or three. Maybe still fighting?
One Christmas Eve a couple of dudes barged in the house and took me at knifepoint, stole a thing. My roommate was much older, could have shot them, deemed it not worth the violence. Yeah, I was nuts about always having a knife on me, practiced for years until that wore off.
Couple of years ago a black bear wandered in the dog door. Wasn’t here, a young friend was watching the house, and it made for a hilarious story. And then it sank in. Anything and anyone could come in that door. LOL, neighbor’s wolf hybrid crept in one night and I pulled gun on him. “BRO! You cannot creep like that!”
Still, after the bear thing, I was paranoid about my pig getting attacked, or me. I stashed guns within reach everywhere in the house. Went kinda nuts for a year or so.
There’s been other things in life, but suffice to say, you don’t have to go through combat to get fucked into a weird headspace.
FFS, since Trump took over in 2016, and especially since the events of 2020, I’ve been a nutcase. I have a Colt .45 on my desk, 24/7. I have either a 12-gauge pump or an AR-15 by the bed, with lights and sights. And I practice. I’m under zero illusions that owning a gun makes anyone a badass.
But at this point in history, I can see a few of my neighbors turning into Brownshirts, going door to door, collecting guns, loading trains, “for my own good”. (They all know I’m liberal as fuck.)
I have a couple of acres of swamp in Nowhere. Didn’t buy it for a SHTF kinda place, but it is now. I’m close to being the prepper that we all made fun of in the 80s.
And yes, I remember the narrative. PTSD wasn’t a thing until recently. And civilians certainly weren’t recognized as sufferers. I get you.
