Hey there. Part of the "mechanics" of PTSD is that traumatic memories are stored in the amygdala, the lizard brain, bypassing every reason center we have, and the longer those memories are stuck in there, undealt with, buried, forced away, the more potent they become. If he's repressed those memories, when they surface, it's going to be like the trauma just happened (Lizard brain can't tell time) so all the grief and fear and panic are right there.
Coping mechanism? DIsassociate. Detach from the emotions/memories that are happening in hopes that they'll just go away. This could mean lost time, loss of affect, inability to engage properly. So big chunks of his memory could be just...not there.
He could repress and think, "Hey, you know, that was a bad thing that happen, and I get upset or anxious sometimes, but I got off easy." And then changing into his new form could UNREPRESS those feelings. For instance, say, something triggery happens, and he doesn't process it as triggery, just goes on about his business, but feeling a little raw and tender inside , and then when get gets somewhere he perceives as safe, BOOM HELLO MEMORIES, and he would feel as wrecked as if it just happened. Still knowing that it wasn't happening, but the fear and grief level would be right there, as he has a flashback.
"So big chunks of his memory could be just...not there. "
I will ditto this. I have absolutely no memory of the traumatic episode I witnessed as a child. I was told where I was and what I saw by the person it happened to, but other than a memory of the place (where I lived for several years), there's just nothing. There's not even a hint of a real memory. It's been 25 years. I've lived with chronic depression, emotional instability, social anxiety and "irrational" aversions to situations other people happily fall into. I was in therapy, but somehow we missed the root of my issues, so it never really got treated, per se. The person it happened to has actually been treated more successfully than I have... And yeah, I totally feel like "I got off easy." It remains to be seen what will happen next.
Thank you so much for your input! I never heard about the Lizard Brain before. I just looked it up. What I found was rather....interesting, to say the least.
Huh. that sounds like a good way to handle the triggers. I could work with that.
Though I am rather confused by what you mean when you say "lost time, loss of affect, inability to engage properly." I tried to look them up but found nothing.
I am abashed to say I never thought try that. I'll get to the link right away. Thanks again! :)
Well, lost time; a triggering event can cause you to disassociate and you go on about your business for hours, weeks, months an have no memory of it, "waking up" sometime later to find yourself doing something and you have no idea what the steps were that got you there. And often, people don't notice that you're not all in there, except that your reactions might be a bit flat, a bit off. In my case, very passive. It's like you go very deep inside yourself for protective purposes. The lizard brain controls fight or flight, right? What if you can't do either? You create a way to flee inside yourself.
In ability to engage properly. I find it very hard to trust people past a certain superficial level, and when nervous, extract or excuse my way out of social situations.
Coping mechanism? DIsassociate. Detach from the emotions/memories that are happening in hopes that they'll just go away. This could mean lost time, loss of affect, inability to engage properly. So big chunks of his memory could be just...not there.
He could repress and think, "Hey, you know, that was a bad thing that happen, and I get upset or anxious sometimes, but I got off easy." And then changing into his new form could UNREPRESS those feelings. For instance, say, something triggery happens, and he doesn't process it as triggery, just goes on about his business, but feeling a little raw and tender inside , and then when get gets somewhere he perceives as safe, BOOM HELLO MEMORIES, and he would feel as wrecked as if it just happened. Still knowing that it wasn't happening, but the fear and grief level would be right there, as he has a flashback.
Have you looked up "symptoms of untreated PTSD?"
This looks like a start....http://ptsdtreatmenthelp.com/putting-your-family-at-risk-because-of-untreated-ptsd/
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I will ditto this. I have absolutely no memory of the traumatic episode I witnessed as a child. I was told where I was and what I saw by the person it happened to, but other than a memory of the place (where I lived for several years), there's just nothing. There's not even a hint of a real memory. It's been 25 years. I've lived with chronic depression, emotional instability, social anxiety and "irrational" aversions to situations other people happily fall into. I was in therapy, but somehow we missed the root of my issues, so it never really got treated, per se. The person it happened to has actually been treated more successfully than I have... And yeah, I totally feel like "I got off easy." It remains to be seen what will happen next.
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Huh. that sounds like a good way to handle the triggers. I could work with that.
Though I am rather confused by what you mean when you say "lost time, loss of affect, inability to engage properly." I tried to look them up but found nothing.
I am abashed to say I never thought try that. I'll get to the link right away. Thanks again! :)
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In ability to engage properly. I find it very hard to trust people past a certain superficial level, and when nervous, extract or excuse my way out of social situations.
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