Support for PTSD, CPTSD, and high anxiety disorders sufferers in this forum.

[PrincessEmily]

Hi everybody!

 

My name (here) is Emily, Im 27 currently, and Im living in Europe. I am also a CPTSD sufferer who has experienced extremely high anxiety and many times reached out to people in this forum for support and understanding. As I struggled and reached out, I noticed there are many PTSD and anxiety sufferers in this community and I realized there is a need of getting together so we can feel understood, heard and share tips to heal and stay grounded, so here I am!

 

My cptsd comes from being verbally abused, sexually abused as a child, etc, by my parents, specially my narcisistic mother. Thats my long story short.

 

My intention with this post is not directly venting but more like trying to come up with a list of people on this forum who can relate to us so we know who is going to understand us when is needed and can chat or pm, and even most importantly, to share and make a huge list of resources to self soothe and heal, not just to calm down from panic attacks but also to learn the signs of trauma being triggered that are less obvious and figure out how we can respond to them in a self-nurturing way

 

That said, glad to meet you all, sorry that you can relate and welcome to out "CPTSD healing club"!

 

Hugs for everyone <3

 

 

List of resources (always in the making):

 

- Wrapping a belt or blanket around your upper arms and chest as a long tight hug can stop really bad panick attacks for some people

 

- Using grounding techniques based in sigh, touch, smell, taste and hearing such as music, asmr videos, noise cancelling earplugs... Soft stuffed animals... Essencial oils... Colouring... Chocolate...

 

One thing that does help me a lot when im feeling a lot of sadness after talking to my therapist about my trauma feelings is holding a dog toy that is a ball with little pointy bits, I squeeze it hard and try to focus on the feeling of the pointy parts into my hand.

 

- Hot showers or baths with bathbombs can also help

 

Feel free to keep sharing what works for you so we can add it to the list!

 

Also, if you are ok with it, you can post a sump up of your story or allow me to writte your name here so we all realice we arent alone in our healing paths

 

[Guest clumsy_little]

So I have PTSD and get frequent panic and anxiety attacks if something I come across is interconnected to some type of trauma. There are times when Im alone at that time and can't reach out for help because my body feels as stiff as metal. My voice is equivalent to whisper at that time. So during that time I just lay down on the cool marble floor, try to breathe and sing a song or at least play it in my mind to calm me down. In my case, I sing the flower song from Rapunzel. When I feel that now my body can move, I hydrate myself and call someone from my emergency contact list because it takes 15-20 mins for me to get out of my numb state in which Im forced due to my panic attack.

 

Always HYDRATE yourself after the panic/anxiety attack.

[smallprincesssarah]

Hugs to you both!! I'm grateful this thread exists, but I'm sad that there's others going through it. I have PTSD related to ten years of DV and the traumatic loss of my mom. I'm currently in therapy for it, but I don't remember a solid six months of my life after losing my mom because I was so dissociated. 

 

Now that I'm working from home, I've been having trouble focusing on my work due to dissociating. Prolonged silence is one of my triggers and being home alone for ten hours a day while my spouse works has been really rough on my mental state. I keep a little container of Play Doh and some gum by my desk to help ground me when I feel myself slipping out of consciousness. One of my friends who understands my ""spaciness"" kindly made a Spotify playlist for me to listen to so I can get work done. Sometimes I use my weighted blanket to help keep me grounded, but it gets too hot very quickly for this time of year.

 

Sleeping is the hardest for me because it takes a lot for me to be able to wind down fully. I take melatonin with magnesium an hour before my bedtime, but sometimes if I'm having a really rough night, I'll take an Advil PM. 

[Guest DemureBelle]

I have PTSD and I mild depression from trauma that I won't divulge publicly. Because of this, I struggle to open up with people, engage in conversations or socialise with a large number of people at one time. Before the pandemic, I began to fall back into a toxic pattern of self - negligence, and it continued until recently. 

 

From my own experiences, one of my triggers is when people push to know the cause of my PTSD. I cannot emphasis enough, how important it is to never force someone or guilt trip an individual into revealing the cause of their trauma. I battled with myself for a very long time, before I was able to tell my own mum what had transpired. When and if we feel comfortable, we will reveal what we can. No more, no less. 

 

Fresh air and a walk away from people is one of the things I need to do when I feel my emotions rise up. Being a teacher has helped me to work on my self - confidence, as well as allowing me to socialise with people for a long period of time without freaking out. However, there are instances, where I am unable to speak and need to break away from the room in order to calm down.

 

A few other things that help me are: music on a low, soft humming, cold water, a cool towel on the forehead, and space. 

[Phoenix78]

I have severe anxiety and depression and PTSD. I wont go into it but music usually helps me and I also have a emotional support dog the helps keep me calm when i go into one of my phases. My phases can be really bad and can last a long time depending on the trigger music helps me the most during those times.