On Thursday June  15th, two of our group members shared a presentation entitled “ Looking at PTSD from Two Different Lenses” The first view was from a male perspective. 

Our first member began by offering the definition of PTSD, which is an acronym for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  He shared that anyone can get PTSD.  This disorder became more known and familiar during World War I.  During that time it was more commonly referred to as “ shell shock “ 

She’ll shock was diagnosed when soldiers were unable to perform their required duties. 

A psychologist by the name of Charles Samuel Myers, wrote his first academic paper on the topic of “ shell shock” 

    Our presenter also shared that below are some of the signs or symptoms of PTSD;

1) Panic

2) easily upset or angry 

3) hyper-vigilance 

4) being easily startled 

5) changes in your mood or thinking 

6) you may have internal reminders, such as night terrors

7) high anxiety 

This member continued his own story by sharing about a time when he had a terrifying moment, when he was around 11yrs old. He grew up with his family in a small town. It was during these years that his family experienced a home invasion. One time during the middle of the night, his Mom came suddenly into his room and grabbed him and took him into his parents room. She told him that someone had broken into their house, and they all needed to stay quietly in his parents room.  For quite awhile, he and his family were trapped in his parents room, waiting for the intruder to leave. Finally his Father became frustrated and bolted out of the room and chased the intruders out of their home. As a result of this incident, this is when he began to experience the symptoms of PTSD. This incident had changed his family life at home, and he began to think about moving out of state to escape this trauma. His picture of home life had a horrible meaning to him after this incident. 

     Later on, when he was around 24 or 25, this member had just moved into

a new apartment. He noticed a new neighbor moving in next to him, a friendly young man. It was during this time that he had noticed a strange smell coming from this man’s apartment.  One night around 3am, he heard sirens and all kinds of noise and commotion going on next door. He eventually found out from his landlord that his neighbor had taken his own life. 

     During this time he naturally became very bothered by this incident, which didn’t help with his symptoms.  During this time of his life, he realized he needed help with his PTSD. Eventually he began attending helpful support groups such as DBSA. 

     Our other view on PTSD came from a Female perspective.  This group member shared with us some PTSD symptoms you may have never heard of. She shared she experiences lots of memory loss and fainting spells. She really doesn’t remember much of her childhood, only the big events and bad things that have happened. In 2nd grade one night during the middle of the night, her Mom woke her and her sister to go out searching for her Dad. They eventually found him at her babysitters house, answering the door half dressed. Her parents started yelling at each other, and finally her Dad came to the van and she tried to pull him into the vehicle. At that moment her Dad took off his wedding ring and threw it at her, telling her he now had a new family and she wasn’t part of it.  This really changed her life after this experience. She shared her Mom really wanted her and her siblings to hate their Dad. 

     It was also during this time that her Mom became emotionally abusive. During this time our presenter had a physical and the doctor asked if she had experienced any mental health related issues. The doctor also asked if anyone in her family had any mental health issues. Our presenter’s Mom then shared with the doctor that her Dad’s Dad had some mental health challenges. At this time she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and started on Meds. 

    Things were going much better until her junior year. At this time her Mom shared that she was pregnant and that she was moving away. At that point this member moved in with her Dad. Her Dad was still with their babysitter, and they had two more kids together. Things were going well, but then her Dad and the sitter began to fight a lot, which eventually led to a divorce. It was also during this time that her Dad began to drink a lot and also became physically abusive. Her Dad then met another woman and decided to move off to Colorado. 

     So since her Dad then did move away, she rented her own apartment for Senior year. During this time her boyfriend began to physically abuse her, and she became addicted to pills during this time. She also started to have fainting spells. One of the last times she fainted, she ended up with severe burns all over her body. When in the ER, she told her Grandma that she didn’t want to live any more. It was at this time that her Grandma helped her to get started with talk therapy. Her therapist helped her to type a text to her parents to let them know she needed some space. 

     She then shared one night she was drinking with her best friend and his girlfriend, and his other friend. She remembers being in and out of it, being awake and then not awake. She woke up and realized she had been raped. 

Two years ago she was talking with a co-worker and this co-worker was sharing her story on her rape trauma. As this co-worker was sharing, her rape came more clearly into view. This is when she realized she had been raped. 

At this point she began having night terrors and sleep paralysis. It was at this time she was diagnosed with PTSD and an eating disorder. She shared that she is doing a lot better these days, as she is on the right meds and has proper coping skills. 

     I want to personally thank both of our group members for being so brave and for sharing their personal stories with us.