A London Trauma Specialists' Psychoeducation Video: The Brain Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), based on Brewin, Dalgleish & Joseph's (1996) Dual Representation Theory.
As someone who suffers from PTSD through my workplace, this video made such sense to me. I could feel myself getting triggered whilst watching it as I was getting flashbacks as each stage was explained. This video brought me to tears
I have complex PTSD and this is exactly what traumatic memories are like. This was helpful because I usually forget the difference between the hippocampus and the amygdala.
Its like you looked inside my brain and read it like a book. I have been trying to explain how PTSD affects me but my family struggles to understand. This is the best explanation I've ever heard. Thank you...
I have been diagnosed with Complex-PTSD. I have had it for decades. Recently, I have found relief through self administered EMDR. My traumatic memories have repeatedly come flooding back when triggered to be relived over and over. However, I can verbalize them and place them in time.
Please spread the word!!! Please Neurologists in all the world, come together and bring this world back in track again! I cannot find any therapist here who is familiar to these insights, no matter how clear i explain my childhood trauma
Thank you that is so astute and succinctly articulated it perfectly described and set me on a scientific path of discovery regarding my own potential PTSD.
The truck symbolism is helpful so I can attempt to explain some things to my loved ones. A huge struggle/frustration for me and my friends/family is how long and hard the process of getting ready to leave the house for simple activities is for me to accomplish. While performing those basic tasks, I get hit with memories of one trauma which snowballs into images and sensations from multiple traumatic experiences I've had . This snowballing feeling is just like that truck speeding towards you as u cross the street. Everything else I was thinking of, the tasks I need to do, and normal everyday thoughts of what I have to do that day, come to a screeching halt, as I am faced with the fight or flight survival feelings from my traumas. I can't ignore the mental truck(s) barreling towards me and continue my normal daily process of getting ready to leave my house. I have suffered with agoraphobia most of my life, in relation to the ptsd and physical chronic issues I have, but i am trying as hard as I can to fight to be able to live. I want so badly to be normal and get out of my house in a reasonable amount of time. It destroys me so deeply to go thru it every single day and more importantly, to put my loved ones thru it also, that part really gets to me. I never want my husband or children to have to deal with the stress of waiting for me or missing out on life like I've had to, it's not fair at all and that's why I will do anything to work on it and reason thru it and prioritize my thoughts and STAY GROUNDED IN THE PRESENT. It's one of the biggest struggles for me and it makes me feel so worthless and dumb sometimes to know it's so simple for most people and I cant seem to JUST GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON like I dream of. sorry for the rant. Lol. Thanks for the video, I related to and liked the analogies...obviously haha.
Your story is exact as mine. I am going through similar trauma respond as you. Developed agrofobia, scared from darkness at nights as constantly seeing nightmares because of my trauma (seeing dreams trauma related). Cant leave the house I got social anxiety, panic attacks in public places..... I got CPTSD because been misdiagnosed by doctors for many years and these years I lived in physical pain almost every day. Living in constant fight and flight mode. Now when I am finally free from my pain I can't I don't feel safe anymore, my nerves is out of balance. Sometimes out of nowhere I get flashbacks and don't know how to cope with it. And feeling sad that people who is around me friends and family doesn't understand me and doesn't understand how difficult is living with post traumatic stress disorder
My body does this without triggers now, it's like I'm in a constant state of fight or flight and when it peaks my eyes roll and head and neck jerk like a massive twitch. I can't shake the elephant.
Hm... I have a phobia of putting my head under the water. I've been trying to overcome this fear, but I've had little success so far. Maybe remembering this video is one of the things I need to help with that...
This is quite good but it confuses episodic memories (autobiographical) with implicit memories (how to/response memories). We do not always remember where we learned a skill or response - that's normal. Episodic memory and implicit memory are not connected. Most of the research shows that trauma memories are no different to normal memories - except for the negative content and arousal - and from positive to neutral to negative is much better considered. Of course the stronger the negative memory the more the urge to avoid, block, suppress. But we do need to think of trauma memories as different. A spectrum approach is more helpful and doesn't lead to the iatrogenic idea that our neurology has been damaged by the trauma. There is no psychobiological difference between normal and trauma memories! See Richard McNally's team at Harvard for excellent research into traumatic memories. And there is lots of evidence that "traumatic memories" (in PTSD) are over-processed (and integrated into the life story and sense of self) - but in a way has strong negative affect and avoidances, blocking, suppression. (See McNally's work on Central of Events).
I've recently seen some videos about PTSD to have references for my story and found out that when the video finish without the "Treatment" part becomes scary, informative but scary =( I'll go to watch some baby cats videos.
