What do those letters mean?
To the educated world, they have a specific definition, but to the layman on the street they mean next to nothing.
What used to be called Shell Shock, is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a serious condition which can make your life a living hell.
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It was first noticed by physicians who treated soldiers returning home after living in intense battle conditions, thus the term shell shock.
By the time we got around to giving it a name that properly defined it, the condition was being noticed in not only soldiers, but victims of life threatening events as well as victims of abuse.
Nightmares, inability to sleep, recurring flashbacks of the initial event, these are just a few of the effects of P.T.S.D.
Episodes of fear, horror, powerlessness, these are also typical and can be triggered by anything that reminds one of the root cause.
The last thing I wish to do is share my own story, but if I don't then how can I ask anyone else to do so?
P.T.S.D. is one of my diagnoses and it came into my life after hospitalization and near death. I avoid hospitals and doctors as if they were the plague, though I do go when absolutely necessary. It's not the doctors themselves that make me all itchy and antsy and miserable, it's the constant questions regarding my medical history.
Yes they need the information which is why I will always comply, but it's painful to relive each episode in the hospital, all the mistakes made by not only medical personnel but by myself. These memories don't just pop up then, they make appearances at will, brought on by visiting someone who's sick or just a simple doctor's appointment.
Imagine then how difficult it might be to live with if it's there all the time, tripping you up as you attempt to put on your happy face and go about your life.
If you have a P.T.S.D. story to share, please do so here.
