Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Dreams Anyone Have Them?

OneEyedDiva said:
I know that one does not have to be a military veteran to have PTSD, but reading the accounts of our members here who have it makes me wonder what were the initial causes of the ailment. I imagine being the victim of a brutal assault or other crime would cause it. If anyone cares to share what initially caused theirs, I'd be further enlightened. And to those of you who suffer from it....I'm so very sorry you go through this!
Click to expand...
Daytime flashbacks are from witnessing a horrible unspeakable death as a teen and several other tragic events have added to it. Nighttime is usually the UPS stress dream. The thing about dreams is I can wake up and shake them off. The daytime PTSD sometimes results in panic, but I have learned over the years to dispel the panic so it is only for a few second or minutes at most.
 

Last edited:
OneEyedDiva said:
I know that one does not have to be a military veteran to have PTSD, but reading the accounts of our members here who have it makes me wonder what were the initial causes of the ailment. I imagine being the victim of a brutal assault or other crime would cause it. If anyone cares to share what initially caused theirs, I'd be further enlightened. And to those of you who suffer from it....I'm so very sorry you go through this!
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed with cPTSD back in 1985 at sunny Brook hospital. I was taken to the Toronto university for testing. I got complex PTSD from my dad brutally attacking me several times a week when I was a little girl. I donā€™t wish to reveal the reason why he did it. Itā€™s too personal. It really messed me up though.

Any loud sudden noises alarms me as do loud groups of people. Lawn mowers back firing have me screaching and styrofoam being broken without warning. I spook really easily.

My mom played head games with me. She made me feel like I deserved being beaten up.

Sometimes the mental torture was worse than the physical torture but I did get some broken bones from the beatings. ( broken ribs, fractured wrist and fingers. ) .My father always got carried away. One day he broke his hand in 3 places and had a hand cast up to his elbow.

Note: since my father and mother have passed on, I have since forgiven them. They clearly had mental issues of their own. I sincerely feel bad for ratting them out.
 
Over my 30 years in the military, I have seen a lot of men and women leave the military because of PTSD. Some cases were worse than others. I heard a lot of men that fought in Vietnam had PTSD. Men coming home from the Mid East and Afghanistan also suffered with it.
 

A friend I hung out with in the early 90s had a grandfather who had awful PTSD dreams from serving in the Pacific in WWII. I got to see it one night, unfortunately. He started drinking and swearing he was going to hell... it was painful to see.
 
Been There said:
Over my 30 years in the military, I have seen a lot of men and women leave the military because of PTSD. Some cases were worse than others. I heard a lot of men that fought in Vietnam had PTSD. Men coming home from the Mid East and Afghanistan also suffered with it.
Click to expand...
I was in the car with my husband who always listened to talk radio. One program... Dr. Gary Null, PhD, I believe, was about the escalation of suicides among veterans. It is a real problem. Considering what they witnessed and had to go through, I'm not surprised. The situation is so sad!
 
Last edited:
OneEyedDiva said:
I was in the car with my husband who always listened to talk radio. One program, which I believe was Dr. Gary Null, PhD was about the escalation of suicides among veterans. It is a real problem. Considering what they witnessed and had to go through, I'm not surprised. The situation is so sad!
Click to expand...
Worst part was there was no recognition or even the phrase "Post Traumatic Syndrome" when we got home. I guess we just fell through the cracks.
 
squatting dog said:
Worst part was there was no recognition or even the phrase "Post Traumatic Syndrome" when we got home. I guess we just fell through the cracks.
Click to expand...
The VN vets didn't fall thru the cracks, it was intentional. Since there was so much opposition against the war, the politicians used the returning soldiers as pawns to advance their agendas. If they had spent the money needed to help the soldiers, the public would have turned against them. Too much was wasted on the war, plus lives lost, and then the attitude of many was these baby killers didn't deserve anything. Even many VFWs refused to allow them to join. Many had long hair and used drugs and were seen by other vets as losers. It wasn't their fault the way that horrible war was fought or they were drafted.

The only hope was families that helped them. My husband has PTSD from VN and occasionally attends meeting. My son has it also really bad from Iraq. He drinks or uses pot to cope. His life is damaged for good despite years of VA help and counseling. He saw too much and things to awful and has developed some mental problems that he just can't beat. Last I heard, he was living in the mountains, off the grid, with a vet buddy.

I haven't heard many of eithers war stories, but the few I did, I ask not to hear anymore. Neither really wants to talk about it anymore, even with buddies. My husband says when the group meets, they talk about other things these days. One reason I married my hubs, was having PTSD myself, I understand at least in part what he suffers.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I was in the car with my husband who always listened to talk radio. One program... Dr. Gary Null, PhD, I believe, was about the escalation of suicides among veterans. It is a real problem. Considering what they witnessed and had to go through, I'm not surprised. The situation is so sad!
Click to expand...
In Afghanistan, several soldiers lost limbs stepping on IEDā€™s. We all saw some of that on tv. What they didnā€™t show were the soldiers that got hit and ended up with tissue and nerve damage, including brain damage. As I walked through Walter Reed and Brooke Med Center, I saw men with 1, 2, 3 and 4 limbs missing. Itā€™s a horrible sight.

Talk to them and some will tell you they no longer want to live. Some will say their life is over. Some of these men had a family with wife and kids. The military urges men to go to counseling. Many of them are still fighting the war in their minds. PTSD is a real disease and a mental health disorder.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top