Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
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A while ago I told you the story about the scar on my foot. There's another one on my chest, one I don't mind too much but I don't like it either. The trauma that caused it was quite different from the others and I still have no idea how it fits into the complex structure that is my PTSD.
TW
I got it when I was 12. I was on vacation at the time, it happened on a tourist-bus-tour-thing when we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
I got some really bad motion sickness, but there were pills against it. I was reluctant to take them at first, since I always got some mild but unpleasant side effects, but it got so bad that I didn't care anymore.
Well, as it turned out, with this foreign brand the side effects weren't quite so mild. It started a few minutes after taking them in my hands and feet. I started getting cramps and soon I was unable to move them anymore. This slowly spread through my entire body, which was quite painful and fucking terrifying.
I was taken out of the bus to get some fresh air while we waited for the ambulance, which took about three hours to get there (we really were in the middle of nowhere). After about two and a half hours I couldn't move anything, couldn't speak or even blink anymore. The sun was blaring in my face but I couldn't close my eyes or tell anyone. I was trapped inside my body, unable to do anything at all.
A few minutes after the ambulance finally arrived, the paralysis spread to my diaphragm. I was fully conscious through all of it, until I passed out from the lack of oxygen. My heart stopped twice on the way to the hospital.
The insulation of the defibrillator was defective, so I got a burn scar on my chest. The wound got a bit infected and I kept scratching it, so it ended up bigger than it originally was. Usually it's easy to cover, though buying bikinis kinda sucks.
Anyway, I was incredibly lucky. The minor infection was the only complication, except for that I made a full recovery within two days. No lasting effects, at least physically.
I already had PTSD at that point, so it was aggravated in general for a while. A few weeks later the insomnia started. I still have it. Also ever since then sunlight puts me on edge. It's not quite a trigger, it isn't strong enough to actually give me a flashback, but it does make me somewhat uncomfortable, which is particulary annoying since the sun tends to be kinda hard to escape.
Except for the insomnia and the sunlight thing, it didn't really affect PTSD much. Although it was bloody terrifying, I never really considered it one of my 'major' traumas. But maybe I've underestimated it, it does sound quite bad written out like this. Hm.
Thoughts?
TW
I got it when I was 12. I was on vacation at the time, it happened on a tourist-bus-tour-thing when we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
I got some really bad motion sickness, but there were pills against it. I was reluctant to take them at first, since I always got some mild but unpleasant side effects, but it got so bad that I didn't care anymore.
Well, as it turned out, with this foreign brand the side effects weren't quite so mild. It started a few minutes after taking them in my hands and feet. I started getting cramps and soon I was unable to move them anymore. This slowly spread through my entire body, which was quite painful and fucking terrifying.
I was taken out of the bus to get some fresh air while we waited for the ambulance, which took about three hours to get there (we really were in the middle of nowhere). After about two and a half hours I couldn't move anything, couldn't speak or even blink anymore. The sun was blaring in my face but I couldn't close my eyes or tell anyone. I was trapped inside my body, unable to do anything at all.
A few minutes after the ambulance finally arrived, the paralysis spread to my diaphragm. I was fully conscious through all of it, until I passed out from the lack of oxygen. My heart stopped twice on the way to the hospital.
The insulation of the defibrillator was defective, so I got a burn scar on my chest. The wound got a bit infected and I kept scratching it, so it ended up bigger than it originally was. Usually it's easy to cover, though buying bikinis kinda sucks.
Anyway, I was incredibly lucky. The minor infection was the only complication, except for that I made a full recovery within two days. No lasting effects, at least physically.
I already had PTSD at that point, so it was aggravated in general for a while. A few weeks later the insomnia started. I still have it. Also ever since then sunlight puts me on edge. It's not quite a trigger, it isn't strong enough to actually give me a flashback, but it does make me somewhat uncomfortable, which is particulary annoying since the sun tends to be kinda hard to escape.
Except for the insomnia and the sunlight thing, it didn't really affect PTSD much. Although it was bloody terrifying, I never really considered it one of my 'major' traumas. But maybe I've underestimated it, it does sound quite bad written out like this. Hm.
Thoughts?
We tend to downplay our problems, I guess? To cope? I dunno. But soft hugs to you, and I'm scampering back into hiding now. Glad you survived, Neo.
Atec: Yeah, might've been more significant than I gave it credit for... I agree with you on the scars. I don't know if you've read my other scar thread, but that one is actually empowering (it's one of my oldest and very deep, so it won't fade). The one on my chest cen get annoying since the skin is really dry and sometmes itchy there. It's not pretty, but having it fade entirely... that'd be weird. I'd miss it.
My folks had mental illness issues, so safety around them was a problem even when they weren't violent.
TW
My mom slammed my kitten's head in a door when I was 4 years old. I saw it up close. Not a pretty memory. She dropped me when I was a toddler and my lip met the corner of a glass topped coffee table that left me a permanent scar. I've always had a mustache to cover that up. Thought of it because of your mention of your scar and bikini buying.
But it certainly wasn't heart stopping. Your heart stopped twice, too. Glad you're here among us after all of that. I wouldn't underestimate it. True survivor!