Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can ruin your quality of life if you let it. It is an emotional roller coaster that leaves you and those who are close to you mentally drained. This is partially because the symptoms of PTSD are severe, alarming, and can be at odds with one another at times. To make matters worse, some of these symptoms make no logical sense to someone who does not have PTSD.
If you have PTSD, you know that depression and anxiety are a big part of this disorder. This means that you are up, and then you're down. You can't sit still, and then you can't seem to get out of bed. Anxiety can include pacing, having racing thoughts, acting compulsively, having panic attacks, and the list goes on. Anxiety can creep up on you when you least expect it. You can be going on about your business and all of a sudden you start to hyperventilate for no particular reason and then it’s off to a full blown panic attack. Severe depression can bring you down so low that you may attempt whatever you believe is necessary to end the pain. Depression can bring you down to a state of hopelessness that's very difficult to overcome. Some people cut or otherwise mutilate themselves. Those who suffer from anxiety, chronic depression, and PTSD are at a very high risk for attempted suicide. It is very common for someone who is experiencing severe depression to cry for long periods of time, to stop eating, to stop communicating with others. At some point, they call this "failure to thrive", which can lead to death. So, the constant push and pull of anxiety and depression in someone who has this disorder alone is enough to seriously complicate relationships with others as well as just mentally torment and exhaust the person who has PTSD.
It's no wonder that many people receive a misdiagnosis of either chronic anxiety or depression. Posttraumatic stress encompasses both of these conditions. Since PTSD involves anxiety and depression in severe states, it is also not uncommon for those who have this disorder to receive a misdiagnosis of personality disorders. This is because of the constant oscillation between the two.
The catch .22 is that the drugs that are commonly prescribed for anxiety don't do much to alleviate depression and vice versa. Also, some of these pharmaceuticals produce depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts as side effects. Obviously this is counterproductive and it can be dangerous for the person who is already suffering.
If a clinician is treating someone exclusively for depression or for anxiety, and fails to make the connection to PTSD, he or she is only treating one component of the disorder. This is a potential nightmare for several reasons. The clinician may believe that the dosage needs to be adjusted if it is not immediately effective and some of these drugs take months to become fully effective. He or she may prescribe one or more medications. It takes time to evaluate whether these drugs are working correctly. Also, it's a process of adjustment. So while the meds are being "adjusted", you're emotionally all over the place. Mentally, you're up for a little while and down for a while. Can you see how this process can be especially dangerous for someone who has PTSD?
Depression and anxiety are two symptoms of PTSD, so it is especially important to work with a clinician who is qualified to treat all three disorders. Anxiety disorders and depression disorders alone are enough to make someone profoundly miserable.
Being in a relationship with someone who has one or the other disorder can be a huge challenge and this is very taxing to the family environment. If you are in a relationship with someone who has told you that they have this disorder, you have to prepare yourself for these and other symptoms to appear. There is a strong connection between PTSD, anxiety, and depression that has to be addressed in a manner that is appropriate for the individual as opposed to a “one size fits all” model. A trained mental health professional and a strong support system are essential in the management of these symptoms when they become too severe for the person to deal with.
If you are dealing with symptoms of PTSD or know someone who is, I urge you to pick up a copy of my book PTSD: WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. It was written by someone who has this disorder for those who are suffering now and their friends and families. It will give you concrete answers and solutions that you can use to lessen these awful symptoms.
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