A User's Guide to PTSD, Part III: I Don't Have To Do That Any More

[rachelmanija]

This is Part III of a three-part essay on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: understanding it, having it, writing it.

Part I: What I Did In The War. (Introduction; background; what happens during trauma; what happened to me.)

Part II: What Does A Flashback Feel Like? (My history with PTSD, what it felt like to me, and dealing with other people who

Comments

[kateelliott]

[marith]

Yes yes yes. That's half the reason I'm very open about my own meds and therapy experiences. People may look at me funny, but I figure at least they're getting data points.

[jonquil]

I get really sick of that one, too. Which is why I make a point of saying "Hey, standing right here. And alive so beats dead as far as creativity goes, at least for me."

Everybody's got her own story. That's mine.

[rosefox]

I tend to stress first and foremost that Zoloft is the reason I no longer get panic attacks. It stopped them completely, a week after I started taking it.

Then I mention that the doctor who prescribed it increased the dose to a point that made me constantly manic for months, and then increased it again to a point that made me near-psychotic. (I lasted one day at that dose, where by "lasted" I mostly mean "didn't throw myself out a window, despite the temptation". Then I called a doctor friend, asked if it was safe to quit Zoloft cold turkey, and dropped it like a hot rock.) I mention this as a lesson not in the evils of drugs but in the evils of not speaking up for yourself when an authority figure claims to be doing something good for you in a way that makes you uncomfortable or unhappy.

I'm all in favor of psychopharmaceuticals: the right ones, at the right dose.

[oyceter]

*hugs*

I still think you are one of the sanest people I know, not in spite of your experiences, but because of them.

I'm just saying: be cautious around those lines. Leave the beautiful suffering to the characters you write and read and watch. It's a lot prettier onscreen than inside you.

Yes and yes and yes.

[cofax7]

Rachel, I'm impressed as hell. This is clear and open (and funny!) and, more than anything else, I hope, helpful. Not just to writers, but to people who have suffered trauma and not been able to identify it or get it treated.

Also, go you, for being so awesome.

[bravecows]

I think probably you are extra sane, because you had to work at it. I really admire how you figured out a way to deal with your physical reactions.

Thank you for these posts; they have been enlightening and helpful. *hugs*