PTSD, Complex PTSD, DESNOS, BPD, DID

[Patience]

PTSD was mostly noticed in veterans and survivors of big railroad wrecks in the 19th Century. Many of the things we now know are traumatic, like wife beating and incest, were not identified as such and instead the victims were blamed for it. In my opinion we are still in that position. We do not know what is traumatic because as a society we don't want to know. For instance, it has only been since this war started and women have been in the position of killing people that we have noticed that killing itself is traumatic to most people. Now we see that even the pilots of UAV's get PTSD. We look back to the guards in the Texas state prisons who got PTSD from the number of executions they had to witness when GWB was governor...Oh, yeah... Killing is traumatic, even killing bad guys.
Traumatic events in childhood are worse. Usually we think of beatings, incest (sexual abuse no matter how gentle or ungentle), neglect (almost starving because your parent is too drunk to feed you is a traumatic stressor and probably happens multiple times), so is abandonment, even if it is just locking the kid in so you can go out. People who have a lot of childhood traumas, neglect, etc often get the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder because they are so reactive and needy, but the reactiveness and neediness is evidence of exactly what was necessary to survive: be who they want you to be... They also get diagnosed with Complex PTSD and Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS).
Some of us think you get a BPD diagnosis when your therapist doesn't know about your traumas, and that you may not, because to you they were normal.
The diagnosis of PTSD says now that an event which evokes fear, horror or helplessness in the person is a traumatic event. I agree with this, but I also believe that it is not a necessary part because people who are totally numb from PTSD can still be re-traumatized by an event that they don't feel anything about...
It is a field that needs a lot of observation and study.
For instance, the original symptoms that brought about the recognition of Critical Stress Response (CRS, shell shock, etc) in soldiers in the field, conversion reactions like going blind, deaf, being paralyzed with no physical cause or tremors and soldiers heart have entirely disappeared from the diagnosis. There are no physical symptoms at all although guys with combat related PTSD die earlier than their buddies of stress related diseases, and people who are child trauma survivors have many more physical problems than non-trauma survivors. I think there should be something in the diagnosis relating to that.
The other category I would add is family dysfunction. Many vets are workaholics and look "resilient" but their families are acting out their pain, cutting, overeating, drinking, drugging...
I have been thinking about this since 1980, when the American Psychiatric Association came out of it's denial and delusion period (1968-1980) when trauma that affected you for more than 6 months wasn't trauma at all, instead you were defective and screwed up before the trauma happened.
We cannot afford to take their word for it that the current diagnostic criteria are the absolute truth on PTSD. Especially since they are based on the treatment seeking population of trauma survivors, not the majority who avoid treatment. Trauma is common. Most people who have PTSD will never go for help, because they don't know what it is and think of it as a weakness instead of a normal reaction to war or other trauma. I try, when I give talks on PTSD to point out that having it is proof of survival. Dead people don't get it... The symptoms start out as built in survival skills: numbing stems from our capacity to pay attention to danger, ignoring everything else, and rapidly adapt... The hyperarousal symptoms are reactions from the"reptile brain" which can react faster than thought to danger. Reexpereincing is the brain's better safe than sorry system: better to react as if there is danger than get killed. This means that PTSD symptoms are signs of strength courage, speed, and luck..
I would like to see us all pull together. Our guys were men with guns when they got traumatized, not small children being tortured, neglected, etc. At least they had a chance! When someone is triggered into PTSD, it is often because they have prior childhood traumas. It is also important to remember that what one person has been through is the worst they have been through. Comparing traumatic events is a waste of time and energy.
We, as family members and friends, have the right and the responsibility to stand up for all trauma survivors, not just veterans, and to work towards a diagnosis that covers everything, and towards treatment methods that help everyone (not just drugs or just one type of therapy fits all, which is often the translation of the code words "evidence-based therapy") There is no one method which helps everyone, and until there are lifelong follow-ups, we will not know if there are any cures, although plenty of people claim them. On the other hand, there are many therapies and techniques which alleviate PTSD symptoms which should be made available to all veterans and survivors of trauma. We can make a difference in this area by doing research, looking for what helps our own guys, letting other people know.
Meanwhile, since most of society likes to say 'get over it," we need to support each other and our vets and other people who have been traumatized.
We are the experts. We do not have to accept what "experts" who see veterans or trauma survivors once a week have to say on the subject if it doesn't fit our family member. We may use them for guidance, but we also need to be guided by our experience. If I had listened to the expert psychiatrists in 1968 who diagnosed my husband with "Nervousness," (because there were no trauma-related diagnoses in the period 1968-1980), I would have been mistreating him all these years instead of trying to understand what happened to him and how it affects normal people.
Hope you will all visit http://patiencepress.com/Patience_Pr...e_Samples.html and read more.

[Traci08]

This is just what i needed today. Thank you.

[hisgirl7477]

Thank you Patience, as usual you grounded me today with your words. Love, hugs, and great admiration and thanks!

[InfantryWifeWhit]

I really enjoyed reading this.

[ait0shi]

This was very enlightening. Thank you.