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How to help someone (non-military) who exhibits symptoms of PTSD?
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[quote:Anonymous Coward 68994398:MV8yODQ0MjQwXzQ5OTY0MzY5XzZDQjkwNDg1] [quote:BRIEF:MV8yODQ0MjQwXzQ5OTY0MjgxX0ZEMjNDQjBF] [quote:Anonymous Coward 68994398:MV8yODQ0MjQwXzQ5OTYzODIwX0UwOEJBRTdE] PTSD results from any shattering event that leaves you stuck and feeling helpless and hopeless. She needs professional care (cognitive-behavioral therapy focused on the trauma, possibly medication), peer group support would help and, of course, people she can trust and talk to (OP! That's you!). With OP's friend, the problem is exacerbated by the loss of trust in the very institution that could help her. I could imaging that people who have been tortured in the presence of a doctor could have the same kind of a problem. That makes it very tricky to convince her to get help, but she needs to get professional help. Her problem is not affecting only her, but people around her. PTSD has been shown to lead to heart problems. She is unable to live her life properly. You should try to find reasons for her to accept professional help in spite of her mistrust. You might offer to take her to a therapist for a one-off visit. Stay there to support her and make sure she gets treated appropriately. She probably fears that she's getting let down again, having her problems ridiculed/demeaned/ignored if she expresses her anger at the medical establishment, not being able to articulate her feelings, being alone with another person or any other such trust issue. Having you or another trusted person with her during the sessions will help to alleviate these concerns. [/quote] Bad things happen, just put it behind you and get over it. Why keep living a miserable time in your life? That's retarded. [/quote] Not too long ago, asthma was considered a mental/panic disorder. Asthmatics were put out on the field to work and when they would choke up, they'd be told to snap out of it and stop pretending. Later a physiological disorder in the lungs was discovered. "Snapping" out of it was impossible. Clinically depressed people were told to cheer up and start living their lives as if they could just choose to do so. Wrong. There is a chemical imbalance in the brain accompanied often by learned thought patterns that make a conscious change impossible. You don't "snap out" of depression, either. PTSD is the same. You're stuck in a harmful pattern of thoughts and learned behavior that's impossible to untangle by yourself. Your body chemistry is also in a constant high alertness fight-or-flight mode. The malfunction in the brain and the rest of the body incapacitates you to the point that you can't pull it off. It's not fake or learned helplessness anymore than asthma or clinical depression. I'm an asthmatic and at one point I was diagnosed clinically depressed. I couldn't have "snapped out" of either by simply choosing not to be depressed or asthmatic. [/quote]
Original Message
I can't go into details, but she fell through the cracks in the system (hospital, cops, courts) and never got real closure on what happened to her. She's still suffering physical effects, but the worst seem to be psychological.
Classic PTSD. However, because the doctors and hospitals let her down, she bluntly turns down all efforts to get her professional care. She knows she's not alright, but is completely unable to trust these people anymore.
I have had a long and close personal relationship with her, and it breaks my heart to see her consumed by anger and fear. They still burn strong after five years and make her unable to enjoy life.
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