Daily Archives: May 22, 2012

One of the classic traits of PTSD is isolation.  PTSD sufferers often feel unable to relate to other people.  Sometimes this results from a feeling that others can’t possibly understand them, and sometimes it’s not a conscious thing at all, just an uncomfortable or even aversive feeling around other humans.

I say “other humans” because people with PTSD often feel comforted by animals.  Animals will love you unconditionally, and often will protect you during an episode of symptoms.  The mere presence of an animal can sometimes be comforting enough to head off a full-blown episode.

One problem with isolation is that it is self-perpetuating.  Who the hell wants to be around a touchy individual who tends to disappear off the map for reasons most people cannot fathom?  And if concerned individuals ask why, they are not likely to get a straight answer, because who wants to go through the whole “I have PTSD” explanation to somebody who is not on the “need to know” list?

As for people who are on the “need to know” list, their job is so difficult that many of them bail out.  Here you are with this lovely person, going along just like usual, and something you do sets them off, and all hell breaks loose.

Granted, the triggering behavior often resembles the original wounding behavior itself: aggression, threats, or actual acts of violence. And there are, unfortunately, individuals who thrive on the power trip of controlling a person with PTSD, as is seen in domestic violence, and in the pimp-prostitute relationship.

Among returning veterans with PTSD, the rates of divorce outstrip the rates of marriage success, among preexisting marriages. Likewise, the rates of homelessness among vets with PTSD are astronomical. Much of this is due to simply being unable to reintegrate, unable to relate to civilian society.

Other groups that show similar social isolation patterns are domestic abuse survivors, rape survivors, and survivors of prostitution and human trafficking. Much like combat veterans, these people find it hard to integrate into a society that not only has never had to deal with the traumas they have been through, but also may look at them as pitiful, dirty, or damaged people. In addition, survivors of domestic abuse and sexual trauma have difficulty knowing who to trust. Repeated experience of betrayal of trust erodes the foundation of the ability to trust, making isolation preferable to being abused once again.

Suicide is the ultimate act of social isolation. I don’t have the numbers handy at this moment, but the relative risk of suicide is much higher in people with PTSD than in the general population. This is greatly multiplied if the person with PTSD also has an additional psychiatric diagnosis such as Major Depressive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder.

I’m breaking my head trying to come up with a good closing sentence, but I’ve depressed myself writing this post such that I can’t think of one. So that’s the way it odds, today.

Copyright 2012 Laura P. Schulman all rights reserved

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/dsm-iv-tr-ptsd.asp This is a good link to check out if you want to refresh your memory about PTSD. It’s geared toward veterans, but it contains the DSM criteria, so it applies to everyone unfortunate enough to live with this crippling illness. There are three major classifications or groupings of symptoms. A person can have symptoms that cross groups, too. If you’re one of my regular readers, you might notice that my writing style is not its usual sparkling self. That’s because my personal PTSD demon got let out of its cage yesterday, and I haven’t managed to get back into the world enough to get it corralled. My PTSD falls mostly into the avoidant group. I get numb and totally leave my body, even as I scramble to try to grab onto something to keep it from happening. This time, I felt myself slipping, tried to stop it, and then got totally knocked off my pins by a second, larger trigger. When I was younger and had fewer resources, I would ends up depersonalized a great deal of the time. I had a lot of severely traumatic experiences, running the gamut of childhood abuse to multiple rapes to multiple trauma from being hit by a car while riding my bicycle. But the worst was being the helpless target of childhood verbal and emotional abuse. I’ve done a huge amount of work on this stuff, and got a lot of it under control. From my own work as a pediatrician I have observed that abuse that happens to preverbal kids just does not get integrated and has little hope of being erased. Prior to language development, a kid just has no way of processing what happened. So when they’re confronted by a similar situation, even as an adult, boom, you’re right back there in that same place of no-escape terror. For me, the only way out was to leave my body and let the chips fall where they may. So yesterday I got triggered. I’m still trying to find my way back. My dog helps, but I think I’m even freaking her out a little. Time is the only healer for this.

Copyright 2012 Laura P. Schulman all rights reserved

We arrived back here in CR last night after our long weekend in Panama. I was so very surprised with Panama city……it is very large, modern & clean! Not one speck of trash was to be seen, they even had some street cleaners out. And the Bay & Canal were very cool to see, so many large ships waiting and coming through it. Unfortunately it rained the whole time we were there, so we didn’t get to do as much sightseeing as we would have liked, but we did get to go shopping. They have some amazing shopping there, upscale malls and regular type as well. I was not prepared for all of the new construction and the very amazing skyscrapers that dot the city, and many of them had ocean views. Our hotel was only 3 blocks from the Bay of Panama, and it is very pretty. There are some very exclusive hotels that are right at the beach, further away from the bridge & the mouth of the Canal, they have private beaches and are all very lovely. I would like to go back to Panama and do some more exploring, the City has a really great vibe about it, and the people are reserved, but friendly once you get them talking. The one thing I was not prepared for was how Hot & Humid it was! I live in the Tropics, but Costa Rica has much nicer weather, especially where I live……our town was named by National Geographic as having the best climate in the world, and after visiting other places here in the tropics, they are so right!!! I do love the heat, and the humidity gave the whole place a sultry sort of feel, so it wasn’t awful. I love wearing sundresses and light skimpy whispery clothing, so I wasn’t too bothered, and my Husband and Son didn’t seem to mind it that much, it was just a different kind of heat for us. They have excellent Beer there, Balboa Beer, and the brewery was opened in 1910? It was incredibly refreshing, I admit to drinking quite a few over the long weekend, and our son just loves fresh Pineapple juice, so we were all able to get refreshed and happy.

I am glad to be back in CR though, it is so peaceful after the hustle & bustle of the Big City, and our son was very happy to go back to his Little School. He just loves School, and his Spanish is getting really good! I am so happy that we were able to find a great Private Bilingual School right in our neighborhood, and it is worth every penny when you ask your child every day when you pick him up from School how his day was and his answer is always “Great!”  Man. I just love it here, and so does my family. Pura Vida!