PTSD Re-Experiencing Symptoms
These symptoms are often the most problematic for most of post traumatic stress disorder sufferers. This is seen a lot in war veterans.
Some of the symptoms of re-experiencing are:
- Recurring bad dreams
- Being troubled by guilt concerning the event
- Stress heightened feelings
- Distressed physiological reaction, like an elevated sweating, heartbeat rate, etc.
- Flashbacks, the sufferer thinks the distressing event is currently unfolding
Flashbacks are very disturbing or troubling re-experiencing symptoms. The worry of embarrassment of some kinds of reoccurrence of flashbacks in public places may put pressure on the person to withdraw from many social activities & cause isolation. It’s vital that you don’t take the avoidance of showing up in public places as something personal, which might appear so to those who wish to spend some time with the person struggling with post traumatic stress disorder. This is can be especially difficult for a partner. It is hard to really understand a person suffering from a disorder that you have never experienced yourself. For this reason it is good to constantly remind yourself that negative & distancing behavioral changes are due to post traumatic stress disorder, it’s nothing personal.
A flashback could be triggered just by anything and very often triggers can’t be predicted. Unconscious memories, which a person suffering could not remember or identify can cause sudden flashbacks, this includes sounds, sights, smells and other occurrences at the time of the distressing event. To be able to develop empathy for what your partner is really experiencing, consider the worst event which has ever happened to you, traumatic & embarrassing, and imagine experiencing it over & over again, as though it were happening now & you couldn’t control it. This is what your loved one is going through.
