Anyone know how to treat possible PTSD?

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dsvoboda
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17 Apr 2014, 12:38 pm

Hi,

I'm a 31 year old aspie who works professionally as a software engineer. My aspergers was undiagnosed until I was 25. Before then, I seemed hopeless as I was an outcast in both high school and the last two years of my college. Part of my high school experience was moving from lower class surroundings in NYC to an upper middle class area in NJ. My more humble circumstances and social awkwardness combined to make me a target of constant bullying and isolation in NJ. I think I can record having only 1-2 friends during my high school years.

I had hoped college would be a breath of fresh air and for the first two years, it was. However, after my friends graduated in my third year, I began to have horrible experiences with some arrogant professors plus increasing ostracization from my fellow schoolmates (save 1-2 friends). My senior year was the worst as I had pressure of a final project plus a team member who bullied me mercilessly. My experiences were such that I almost suffered a nervous breakdown in my last semester and had to come pleading to the school dean for help against the bullying I had.

After some rough starts in my professional career, I went and got diagnosed with Asperger's after suspecting for a long time. After finding individual meetup groups, I today have great aspie friends online as well as near where I live. Having worked in the real world, I think also my social skills improved somewhat.

Yet I still have moments of depression and anger from my earlier horrible experiences. I try at times to dismiss it as me being oversensitive. Yet I feel that no person could have experienced what I had and come out not scarred. It makes me wonder at times if I'm suffering from some form of PTSD. I'm sure some others are familiar with this. Does anyone have suggestions on how to overcome these feelings at times?

Daniel



b_edward
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17 Apr 2014, 1:39 pm

I have a similar story. I feel I have PTSD symptoms because my reactions to things are so out of whack. Things happen in social interactions with people or things happen at work, that send me into a tailspin of negativity that lasts anywhere from a day to a week, and I get irrational about it and have a hard time breaking free. But after looking at it closely, all of these episodes only make sense when looking back at things that happened in my past, in school or during my twenties.

I don't know how to solve all of it, but recognition of what is going on is the first step.

Example: recently I was having high anxiety over sending an e-mail to some of my colleagues. They asked me why, and I just said I think it might make a huge mess if I forward this to everybody. Later, I took a rational look at the situation, and I realized there was not going to be any mess, there was nothing whatsoever wrong with me sending this e-mail that i was supposed to send. I just felt this huge anxiety over it, and felt like it was going to cause problems and bring hell down upon me if I send this e-mail. But I now realize that was not rooted in logic or reality. It was was something from the past come back to haunt me. Ever since this time I've been able to send these e-mails and not be anxious about it any more.

I would also like to know how PTSD is treated.



em_tsuj
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17 Apr 2014, 1:43 pm

See a psychologist?

That's what's working for me.



dsvoboda
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17 Apr 2014, 1:47 pm

I'm seeing one right now for aspie issues. I think she's helped me a lot, but is inadequate with the PTSD issues. Are there any psychologists who specialize in that?



BuyerBeware
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17 Apr 2014, 4:38 pm

Yes, there are PLENTY of psychologists who specialize in PTSD (seems like a lot of people have it these days, just from life).

Be careful, though-- there are also a lot of quacks who like to treat it with some really heavy drugs, and a PTSD diagnosis can carry a really dangerous stigma (like Asperger's doesn't, but-- think long and hard about whether you really need a double dose).

I'm pretty sure I have it; so is my therapist. PTSD, I mean (Asperger's is a given). I'm getting the best mileage out of giving myself permission to be upset with the situation (the things that have happened) and putting effort into thinking about how to keep them from happening again. I think it would be helpful if I could manage to forgive the people who did the doing-- not in the sense of saying it was right or OK, but in the sense of saying, "I understand that you did it out of some brokenness in yourself and I don't want to rip your face off with a dirty plastic spork any more."

If I ever get to that point, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, cultivating apathy seems to make it possible to live and function with relative efficiency. :? :cry:


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Theoutsider8540
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28 Sep 2014, 10:02 am

PTSD is very common. The Best and I feel the real way to treat it is by facing the problem head on... I've been AS my whole life born this way I also have a diagnosis of chronic severe PTSD, I personally don't empathize with any one for anything not sure if I even feel bad for myself anymore? Thanks to a misdiagnosis I was forced adhd meds that made me super focused on only what I wanted to the extreme². I was able to join the army at 17 boot camp was a breeze until I got bored of the simplistic redundant crap! (Father was career Marine, who was a DI so ran the house like boot camp) I started to have a so called smart mouth towards the end of training, graduated moved on with my smart mouth that got me in trouble but more times than not got a praised because my aspergers mind can problem solve better than they could ever imagine. Deployment to Iraq days after turning 20 spent right at 18 months in that smelly place in 2005-2006 I was right in the middle of the then called triangle of death. Ramadi camp blue diamond and haditha....... Did my job got home and was no longer fit for duty VA slapped me with PTSD and gave me their so called cure all pill! That changed 15 more times (meds) because they didn't know my real diagnosis was AS with secondary PTSD. Us high spectrum ppl are very tough, I mean we grow up on a battle field because the world doesn't work correctly! We lean towards almost always using rational and practical thinking instead of emotion fueled piss poor thinking. So anyway if you think you have PTSD and want real treatment join a support group that is dedicated towards your needs and problems, Otherwise The NI won't relate nor try and understand your problems...

Just face it and talk about it a lot![b]



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28 Sep 2014, 11:14 am

I have PTSD and have not really found an effective treatment for it....I find cannabis can relieve some of the worst symptoms and reduce the anxiety. I was going to try something called EMDR therapy(though I am entirely skeptical it would help and feel its more likely it might just make it worse) but yeah they told me the wrong day I was supposed to meet with the therapist to be assessed for that....and now they want me to go through all the headache of trying to get ahold of her or whatever to reschedule as well as the therapist I was going to who referred me when they are the ones that f***d it up....now not sure I even want to bother I was already skeptical to begin with.

But yeah don't really know what to say, I honestly hope you don't have PTSD and its just difficult to cope because PTSD sucks....but if your experience was traumatizing and you where afraid of harm(I think it can include psychological harm)/death and haven't been able to move past it then it is certainly likely. I have heard the sooner you can get support and help for it the better....since the longer it goes untreated it can get worse...in my case I did sort of try to just suppress it and move on like it didn't really effect me, and it certainly did not help. Are you diagnosed? if not it may be a good idea to talk to someone who can diagnoses it and see if they think your symptoms and experience fits.

^as for just facing it and talking about it a lot, I actually really don't find that helpful....just wears me out since I either freeze up can't get words out or get visibly more anxious and stressed and fidget a lot. I do try bringing it up in therapy but yeah much easier said than done and can be triggerring.


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Booyakasha
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28 Sep 2014, 11:23 am

I use meditation and laughter therapy to deal with such issues. Not sure whether it's applicable for others though.