What It Feels Like to Learn You Have PTSD

PTSD has been known by many names, such as “shell shock,” “soldier’s heart,” or “combat fatigue” during the years of World War I and II, but PTSD does not just happen to combat veterans. PTSD can occur in all people, of any ethnicity, nationality or culture, and at any age. PTSD affects approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. adults every year. 

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events, or set of circumstances. Examples of such events  include natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war, sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence, and bullying. 

A trauma therapist helps you to understand trauma and triggers that are unique to you. They can guide you to proper care and management of your PTSD symptoms.  At Calm Again Counseling, we offer PTSD counseling in San Francisco. To learn more about our practice in the San Francisco area, call (415) 480-5192. 

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Some people describe feelings of PTSD as having smells, looks, dreams, or how someone treats you as a trigger from the traumatic experience. It feels like you’re constantly on high alert - similar to the way you feel when you watch a scary movie but you feel that way everyday.

Living with PTSD can make a person feel constantly uneasy, on-edge, scared and depressed. The symptoms of PTSD affect each person differently. However, there are some side effects and common features that are worth considering when trying to understand what PTSD feels like.

• Flashbacks - Intrusive thoughts that can be so vivid that you feel you are reliving the traumatic experience or seeing it before your eyes. Common PTSD flashback symptoms include seeing images of what happened, feeling sensations in the body, or experiencing the same emotions felt during the traumatic event.

• Panic Attacks - These are episodes of intense fear and stress accompanied by physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, sweating, shaking, feeling sick or dizzy, and tingling hands.

• Hypervigilance - Someone experiencing this may feel like they can never relax. Family members might notice they’re jumpy, irritable, and impulsive.

• Avoidance - You might find yourself avoiding reminders of the traumatic event. This may include avoiding people, places, activities, or objects that may trigger those distressing memories. You may also realize that you’re resisting talking about what happened and how you feel about it.

• Alterations in Perception or Mood - Sometimes it’s hard to remember important aspects of the traumatic event. You may experience negative thoughts and feelings leading to ongoing distorted beliefs. These distorted thoughts may lead to wrongly blaming yourself or others, ongoing fear, lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed, or the inability to experience positive emotions.

Many people develop symptoms within three months of their experienced trauma, but symptoms can appear later and persist for months and sometimes years. It’s important to seek counseling for PTSD to better cope with these symptoms.

I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, now what?

After your initial diagnosis, it’s totally normal to feel a wave of emotions. From relief that your problem has a name, to hope that you might be able to find a way to cope, to shock and denial about the fact it is happening to you – there’s a lot to process. 

No matter how you feel, the best thing to do is stay open with your communication. Share how you feel with loved ones, friends, family or a trained professional such as your therapist or doctor. Hopefully by now you will have been told about the numerous recommended treatments for PTSD such as EMDR and CBT. 

The great news is that with the right treatment and support, PTSD is entirely treatable. You’ll eventually start to feel better. Although it might feel like a long journey ahead, the good news is that you’re on the right path for where you want to be.

Calm Again Counseling offers PTSD counseling near you in San Francisco. Our trauma therapists use trusted, science-backed methods to treat the root cause of trauma. To learn more, call (415) 480-5192.