Yes it's very normal. I almost thought I was an angry schizophrenic when my PTSD symptoms were so aroused. Your body's reflexes act so differently when you PTSD kick in like you have to battle an oncoming threat. Adrenaline pumps through your veins and it sucks. I've gone for runs and still feel so angry.

That's what got me into treatment. My anger episodes started increasing in frequency.

you are not going crazy. I too have these issues with my PTSD but since getting put on Prozac things are a little more controllable. I still have episodes and flash backs on occasion but nothing compared to what it was when i first got back from Iraq.

No Prozac here, no counselor although I am training to be one myself but yes, it is common and not just you. I find even sometimes when there is no real anger per se, there are definite walls. I just feel defensive and can only relax alone. It is tough sometimes, but at least for me, focusing on the steps I've taken and every single time I can be intimate, happy, or content has really helped. In other words, focusing on the times I feel good as opposed to the times I don't seems to have brought more of the good and less of the guilt and frustration.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not sticking my head in the sand, I guess I'm just looking at the positive and try not to beat myself up or get down about the bad times.

I find if I can stop for a minute and back track to when I started getting angry and shakey, "fight or flight", I can figure out what set me off, or "triggered" me.
Sometimes when we are first becoming aware of PTSD we have not yet become aware of when we feel triggered, we feel crazy. You're not crazy, sometimes our subconscious or our body is reminded of our trauma without ourselves quite aware of what's happening.
It gets better with work and awareness, :) hugs.

Newbee1 said the truth...our seemingly out of nowhere episodes of anger usually do have triggers, but until we can see them, we feel crazy.

I have also noticed that if I haven't had enough sleep, if my day to day life has more stressors than usual going on, or I am not physically feeling well, I am more likely to have random episodes of anger. They used to manifest as actual outbursts of frustration and yelling, but I have learned to recognize when I am beginning to feel the shift and I am able to breathe through it and walk it off before I explode at someone for no reason. It's hard as hell to do and it has taken me years to get there. I'm not perfect at it either, sometimes it still happens no matter how hard I try to stop it.

Question about this. As you know I am new to all of this, so please understand the illiteracy in this matter: For those who don't take any medication, how do you cope? Does dealing with those episodes that way makes them manageable?

I do not take medication and it is extremely hard but Breathing exercises and exercise helps most and whenever there is a trigger reminding myself to stay calm and being very self aware of when I'm reacting because of panic helps control it. learn why you react and you will have a lot more control:-)

Thank you. I have a few issues around taking medication and I'm willing to take it if it helps of course.

My sudden anger episodes sometimes are very evident and embarassing to me since at times I find myself talking to no specific person in public. That's how "into it" I get (for lack of a better term.

I'm not on any medication(at least it hasn't kicked in yet). This is probably not the best solution, but I've found that shame helps. I keep myself in situations where if I let my anger escalate, people would hear me, see me, and be mad at me or find me immature. If I'm not around a lot of people and I feel bothered, I just walk out of the room to avoid having an argument. It's not always effective because people get upset if you walk away or believe you're going to find a private place to hurt yourself.