20 Signs of Unresolved trauma

I started counseling with my husband in marriage counseling.  After several ‘failed’ homework assignments, the counselor asked me about my childhood.  I chirped, “It was great, we went to the park, we went to the zoo.  It was a great childhood.”  He shook his head and persisted, “Tell me an average day.”  He knew before…

Physical symptoms do exist

  Emerging From Broken “Physical symptoms such as muscle tension, back problems, stomach distress, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, obesity or maybe even hypertension can be caused by suppressing your emotions. Suppressed anger may also cause you to overreact to people and situations or to act inappropriately. Unexpressed anger can cause you to become irritable, irrational, and…

Flow chart of symptoms

I would love to post this flow chart of symptoms but the recent review of the copyright information I am including the link to the chart.  I believe the most helpful thing about this chart is it reduces the symptoms to groups.  In my opinion, recognizing the main issue directs me to the coping methods…

Unresolved Trauma

I read this article and it lists 20 symptoms of unresolved trauma.  My counselor recognized I was severely messed up, long before I knew I was severely messed up.  After each line, I add my comments to Kathy Broady’s MSW.  She writes more on each symptom on her blog.  She also has videos and other…

Can’t let go

I had no memories from my childhood.  In a way I let it go but I still had PTSD response with no understanding as to why I reacted this way.  It was difficult in counseling when my counselor asked me about my past.  I chirped, “We went to the park, we went to the zoo.” …

All in my head

I heard the “All in my head” from the time I was 15 years old.  I went to medical doctors first trying to understand what happens to me body.  When I can go from lots of energy to 0 in less than 10 minutes.  (One of the reasons people with PTSD are sometimes diagnosed with…

Need to know

Ever heard the phase, “Need to know” as a basis if you need to hear information?  I like watching detective and cop shows and sometimes hear this phrase.  The phrase usually means that information is being kept from someone else for confidentiality reasons.  However, if you have PTSD you need to know about PTSD.  It…

DMS-5

I am sharing an article I found about the DSM-5.  Why is it important?  Because this is the criteria that insurance companies and other institutions recognize as a way to diagnosis PTSD.  The page indicates their willingness to share.  If I misunderstood their web site, I’ll remove the article and leave only the link.  My…

Hyper-Focus

Hyper-focus is one of the symptoms of PTSD for some people.  This is the ability to devout 100% of your attention on one thing.  It is considered a negative thing because a person may block out the rest of the world so completely they don’t notice their house is on fire.  So why would I…