PTSD: Why can’t I get it together?

Many people who have post traumatic stress disorder ask themselves, “ What’s wrong with me?” “Why can’t I get it together?” “Where did I go?”  “What’s happening to me?” This is perfectly normal and you are not alone. PTSD is a debilitating disorder that will take your mind for a whirlwind ride. Dissociation, a major factor in PTSD, can include confusion and fragmented thinking. It can include physical feelings of floating, of feeling like your head is larger than it is, or of feeling shorter or taller than you are. I know that this sounds very strange. Dissociation is very strange. When PTSD sufferers experience dissociation, they feel disconnected from others and sometimes from themselves. They withdraw from society and from others. They withdraw into themselves and can experience time lapses.

 I have PTSD, so I know what a frightening feeling it is when you tend to space out frequently and relive trauma, even though you don’t want to. It is frightening when you realize that you have little to no emotion about the things that you used to care very deeply about. It’s also frightening when you feel emotionally numb and no longer have that spark for life. These are all parts of dissociation.

Post traumatic stress disorder damages the limbic system, which is our emotional system. When humans experience trauma that is so great that they believe that they will not survive, it does damage to many parts of the brain. The nervous, or limbic system reacts as if it is in a state of shock and tends to shut down somewhat. This is why we dissociate and cannot feel emotions as we did before. Also, when the limbic system is overloaded by stress, it causes us to dissociate in order to conserve energy or to relax.

Dissociation is a sign of having too much stress. Since PTSD is a stress disorder, this is a revolving cycle. While there is no cure for PTSD, there are ways to manage stress and ultimately dissociation, but this takes time. If you experienced trauma recently, dissociation will occur frequently until your brain has had time to adjust to the shock of that event. When your memories are triggered, you may dissociate as a way of dealing with that uncovered memory. Even though this symptom can be overwhelming, it is the body’s natural way of protecting itself and psychologically dealing with tremendous strain. To become upset about dissociation is counterproductive. This will produce more stress and that will trigger panic and more dissociation. 

There are some psychological techniques and tricks that help with dissociation as well as relaxation techniques. Ultimately, you need time to adjust and you need time to physiologically heal from trauma. If you want to learn more about how to handle the symptoms of PTSD, I have written a book entitled PTSD: What to do about it when you don’t know what to do about it. This writing will give you specific steps that you can take in managing the disorder and it’s debilitating symptoms. It was written for those who suffer from this disorder, those who are in a relationship with someone who has this disorder, and those who need information and a solid plan of how to deal with the symptoms of PTSD.