PTSD

[mr.moon1488]

no but occasionally i get this really strange type of anxiety

Something I've found that helps with anxiety attacks is to stop for a second, think about why you're feeling anxious, and then think of how little it normally really matters.

If you're having anxiety attacks regularly, doing guided meditation every so often can help.

Like the OP, I too used to be an EMT, among other things, have dealt with things like amputees, cadavers, dying patients, &c., and have certain issues, but I wouldn't call them PTSD in my case. I've just had a somewhat shitty life in general and coped with it in maladaptive ways. I sometimes have paranoid thoughts, delusions, and the occasional hallucination, but can tell the difference between these things and reality these days without anyone else having to point it out.

Seeing what psychiatric care is like from both sides pretty much depleted my faith in it even though I used to want to be a shrink when I was younger, so I don't bother with therapy or medications. The way I see it, unless you're so impaired by whatever you have that you can't do things like getting out of bed in the morning or not killing yourself without psych meds, it's best to avoid therapists and psychiatrists because they pretty much always try to push pills on you and the pills do more harm than good unless you're genuinely in a state where they're essential to your day-to-day survival, which some people are.

The psychological community is trying to move away from just sending people to the psychiatrists, and then popping them full of pills now thankfully. Some things you kinda have to do it with though (e.g. schizophrenia, most cases of bi-polar disorder). There are some cases of PTSD where anxiolytic drugs are needed, but they're trying to move away from addictive variants of these.

 

[L50LasPak]

There are some cases of PTSD where anxiolytic drugs are needed, but they're trying to move away from addictive variants of these.

I'm probably stating the obvious like a dumbass here, but its frustrating how this adds one more layer of complication to this whole thing. Often "non-addictive" is a euphemism for "very, very, very weak and probably useless". Of course at the same time I don't want things to spiral out of control and end up having to stick a needle in my arm just to get some relief for a few hours but at the same time is makes it much harder to find something that actually affects your brain.

Worst cases are probably former drug addicts and crack babies who are immune to literally everything but the hardest stuff possible and for obvious reasons also end up getting diagnosed with PTSD somewhere down the line.

There's some kind of weird experiments going on using MDMA along with cognitive therapy at the same time (literally you trip and re-live the experience from a new perspective while the therapist talks it out with you) that are... interesting to say the least. I'm not certain this one's gonna work but at least someone cares enough to try more creative solutions. I read that paper years ago though; it may have already failed. I'll have to look up the new research on it, if there is any.

If you're having anxiety attacks regularly, doing guided meditation every so often can help.

This seems to work for a lot (far more than I ever thought possible) of people so I'm going to do my best not to be negative towards this suggestion but I find not having anything to actively occupy my mind is when its at its worst. To anyone out there; if you try this once or twice and find yourself feeling substantially worse you might be stuck in my category.

 

[mr.moon1488]

I'm probably stating the obvious like a dumbass here, but its frustrating how this adds one more layer of complication to this whole thing. Often "non-addictive" is a euphemism for "very, very, very weak and probably useless". Of course at the same time I don't want things to spiral out of control and end up having to stick a needle in my arm just to get some relief for a few hours but at the same time is makes it much harder to find something that actually affects your brain.

Worst cases are probably former drug addicts and crack babies who are immune to literally everything but the hardest stuff possible and for obvious reasons also end up getting diagnosed with PTSD somewhere down the line.

There's some kind of weird experiments going on using MDMA along with cognitive therapy at the same time (literally you trip and re-live the experience from a new perspective while the therapist talks it out with you) that are... interesting to say the least. I'm not certain this one's gonna work but at least someone cares enough to try more creative solutions. I read that paper years ago though; it may have already failed. I'll have to look up the new research on it, if there is any.



This seems to work for a lot (far more than I ever thought possible) of people so I'm going to do my best not to be negative towards this suggestion but I find not having anything to actively occupy my mind is when its at its worst. To anyone out there; if you try this once or twice and find yourself feeling substantially worse you might be stuck in my category.

Certain things just do not work for some people, and there's nothing wrong with that. It would be like asking a master blacksmith to work with a carpenters' plane. He won't even know the beginnings of how to use it, but this doesn't change the fact that he is a master of his trade. As for the bigger macro issue of " I find not having anything to actively occupy my mind is when its at its worst," there is one simple solution to this problem, which is difficult, but once you realize it, you'll feel foolish for having not realized it sooner. You are in complete control of your own mind. What do you want to occupy your mind with? It doesn't matter what it is, you can make it so with enough willpower. It sounds like an oversimplification, but it's both the honest truth, and empowering when you realize it. You are in complete control of yourself. Everything within you is meaningless unless you will it to have meaning.

 

[L50LasPak]

You are in complete control of your own mind.

You state this point pretty strongly and repeat it creatively a few times throughout your post but I'll be honest and say I don't exactly much feel in control of anything right now. Which is probably not an uncommon feeling for people suffering this condition; but I will concede that perhaps that points to some worse/different issue such as schizophrenia.

Another difficulty in trying to logic your way out of your own condition like this is that PTSD is often comorbid with or can even activate other conditions. Sometimes quite spectacularly. I know I keep blowing the neurology trumpet but they're the cavalry I'm really waiting on in this battle.