Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
Find support with others who have gone through a traumatic experience. Whether you have chronic or acute PTSD, we are here for you.
okay so a couple of years ago i was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and panic disorder. but when i was 8(i'm 17 now) i had started going to therapy for auditory and visual hallucinations. i didn't really realize what was going on, i thought that the devil was talking to me or something. then those stopped and i was fine until i was 15. then i started having panic attacks and i was depressed and angry. so i started going to therapy again and my therapist was talking to my mom to find out about my childhood, and my mom was telling her about when i was 3 and my babysitter's ex husband broke in the house with a knife and i had to hide in a closet. i saw him walk in, but he didn't see me. but i had almost completely forgotten about that until my therapist told me that my mom was talking about it. and then when i was 8, my babysitter and her ex got remarried and my parents made me go to the wedding so i had to see him again, and that's when the halluciantions started. i also started getting dissociated around that time too. so my therapist told me that i have ptsd, so i was wondering if that means if i'm actually bipolar or anything else or if it's just the ptsd. i do not know what's going on with my brain.
In my opinion, and it's just that, you sure sound like you've been through a major trauma that could cause PTSD, and part of that can be a sort of panic disorder. Some of your other symptoms fit PTSD as well... and hey... having fully immersive and (what I refer to as) "lucid" flashbacks, I can see why some might see them as hallucinations.
Hey... just my opinion for you to give or take as you see appropriate. I can see similarities between you and I, and others here who talk about their own symptoms, I can say you're bipolar, or if you have BPD... that's not part of my diagnosis. My Mother was Bipolar, but I don't know you well enough and you haven't said enough for me to have a feel for that.
I do however think it may be immensely valuable for you to find a therapist who specializes in trauma and PTSD, as I find again and again that they're really the only ones who can accurately diagnose and help those of us who suffer from the disorder. I also believe that they also have the skills to diagnose (if not treat) Bipolar and/or BPD. (PTSD is so... many different things that i think it's harder to diagnose than the others, and anyone who can handle PTSD can at least diagnose the others too.
Maybe this could help narrow it down a bit more?
Take care,
D.