How can I be normal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?!

How can I be normal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I've been diagnosed with PTSD which leads to depression, anxiety, and insomnia. This makes it very difficult for me to "function" but somehow I pull through. I can't help but wonder if its only a matter of time before I snap...

4 weeks ago
What triggers me? Well that's a hard question in itself. I find I'm mostly triggered by stress. I already don't sleep enough, I don't eat right, I drink too much, smoke too much, sometimes I take drugs... I'm trying to be positive and go to college but I get bad anxiety attacks and I can be a pretty angry person. I've spent time in the mental wards before and I don't like it so I just want to make sure I never end up there again, you know

I just answered a similar question posted a bit after yours. I will paste my answer to you here as well.

Although I would need more specifics to fully answer you, in short, there is help for someone suffering from PTSD, and , you can feel "normal" again.

There is most certainly a way that you could get some help. More than likely, you are suffering from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (of course, you would need a thorough evaluation to formaly make this type of diagnosis). This is usually the case when one has suffered abuse or traumatic experiences in the past and continues to suffer from intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and possibly even flashbacks of the traumatic events. I feel this is one of the most under diagnosed illnesses. It is an anxiety disorder. If in fact, you do have PTSD, then, in my clinical opinion, the absolute best treatment should involve a therapist/clinician who is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). This is a treatment modality that can help decrease or even resolve the symptoms of PTSD. It works great, takes less time then traditional psychotherapy and thus is less expensive. I have found that EMDR works greatest when one is dealing with a single trauma (like a rape, car accident, single beating, etc.) But, it still can help with the more continuous type of trauma you describe from your childhood. Other treatment modalities would include psychotherapy and possibly even medications. The good thing is, there is help for you and you do deserve to feel better. The EMDR really helps with the negative cognition one often develops with childhood abuse (It's my fault, I deserved it, I'm worthless anyway") That sort of stuff. Having those "automatic negative thoughts" reprocessed can do wonders for you. Good luck and feel better.