For those who suffer with Post Traumatic Stress...?!

For those who suffer with Post Traumatic Stress...?

How do you handle it? How does it affect your life? Do you take medication and does it help you?

3 weeks ago
I am actually on Prozac for depression but recently decided (with doctor's permission) to stop taking it for a while, with the hopes that I may not need it anymore. After some stressful weeks and an incident that was too much like some past abuse I had experienced, I decided that it was time to start the medication again. I also have a friend with severe PTSD, so it's great to hear how others cope. Thanks everybody!

Med.'s and counseling do help. I try to focus on other things, self improvement, positive thinking, & raising my self esteem. Exercising, eating right (6 small well balanced meals a day) Not a lot of sugar & caffiene filled foods/drinks, also helps. Listening to relaxing or cheerful music (depends on the situation), lighting candles, long baths, doing different things, meeting people, etc. All help. Although, sometimes, this has to be forced & is easier said than done. It takes a lot of work, research, and effort to be able to function properly. Though it can be done. It has taken me 5 years to get to where I am now. Which is much better, however, not recovered. It can still be can still be a struggle. I have several different diagnosis. I am currently not on medication. Because I am pregnant and it can cause birth defects. Prior to pregnancy, I was on geodon, lexapro, trazadone, and klonapin. However, I moved far away from the causes. I am doing very good with out the med.'s, right now. Though, they helped me threw some rough times. My counselor said it is possible for me to recover fully one day. I hope so. So you know different people react differently to different med.'s. Also symptoms are panic attacks (which vary in lentgh and symptoms), flash backs, loss of memory, tremendous stress, not thinking clearly, suicidal thoughts, anxiousness, not being able to sleep, in some cases hallucinations, etc. You can look them up on line. It can vary.