Posted by R.Anne on December 10, 2000, at 22:43:59
In reply to Reaction to stress?, posted by scotiapryncess on December 7, 2000, at 15:16:59
> Starting four years ago my mom died, my sister died, my husband of 25 years left me and my two daughters, and finally, I lost my business. Yeah, this is a lot of stress. I am trying so hard to regain some control over my life, but the financial ramifications have been enormous. Recently, I have come to realize that I am feeling like none of this is really real. I was not even aware of it until a few months ago. It's as tho I am stuck in some wierd place that makes no sense to me. My thoughts are perfectly clear, and I am completely oriented. It's just his constant feeling that none of this really happened. That somehow I am going to wake up and things will be put back in order. How on earth do I move ahead and cope when I feel this way? I am so confused.
^^^^^^^^^^
Your reaction to this tremendous amount of grief is your mind's way of protecting you and it's sort of a blessing for now. Our mind's are great things, think about it. The realization of all that at once could do even more harm. Being able to share with the people here will help you get a lot of it out. Plus seeking a psychiatrist and/or a counselor will help you to relieve the pain when and if it sets in. You can take things slow and talk about what you want when you want. It does sound like a traumatic stress reaction to me. I've walked around in that state that we create to save ourselves many times and it saved my mind from going to Mars and fast. I've had PTSD most of my life. Then in 1986-7 I went through trauma after trauma-fire-major losses. I don't think my Post Traumatic Stress will ever go away but I've learned to live with it, understand it, accept it and deal with it each day as need be. You can do okay much of the time and have that, too. Stressors will and do set it off and it isn't always known what the triggers may be. I had a flashback of pain a few days ago and don't know if it was real pain or a memory of pain (from an injury). I may sound weird but I found it quite interesting as it only lasted a second. Anyways, I find myself rambling a bit now. Just wanted to let you know that PTSD is a normal reaction to an abnormal event(s) or a series of tragedys. There are medicines that help it greatly and make a person much more comforable if that is what you might want to do. Therapy and medicine together are quite helpful. Good luck to you.
poster:R.Anne
thread:3497
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001117/msgs/3588.html