Most people think of PTSD strictly as a post-combat condition but post traumatic stress disorder is a result of all trauma. There are several different types. 


 

•Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) 
A chronic condition that can develop from long-term trauma, such as domestic violence, child abuse, or war. People with C-PTSD may have issues with relationships, self-image, and emotion regulation. 

•Uncomplicated PTSD 
can result from a single traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident, or from experiencing trauma firsthand. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts that last longer than a month. 



•Comorbid PTSD 
Also known as co-occurring disorders, this term applies when someone has more than one mental health concern or a substance use disorder. 



•Delayed-onset PTSD 
This type of PTSD doesn’t meet the full criteria until six months or more after a traumatic event. 



 

PTSD can also be categorized by the severity of its impact, such as mild, moderate, or severe. 

 

I’ve experienced both complex PTSD in its severity and a mild but prolonged case of uncomplicated PTSD. In the latter, a serious car accident in which my last conscious memory was of a car approaching an intersection from my right. For nearly twenty years, I began to panic when driving if it appeared the car to my right was not going to stop. I would often freeze, heart pounding, and could not control my breathing until I safely crossed the intersection. 

 

The former affected me even longer, though I’ve now learned coping mechanisms to help me manage it. Five separate non-familial sexual attacks in my sleep, beginning when I was five, left me terrified of being alone in the dark. A single noise would awaken me and leave me tossing and turning for hours. Darkness terrified me and I slept with a nightlight through my teen years. As I got older, I always had a child, spouse, or pet in the bed with me and on the few nights I did sleep alone, I did so with the lights on. I never considered it PTSD until last year when I’d come home to an empty house and found a bedroom door opened that I knew had been shut when I left. 

 

I froze in my tracks, heart pounding and tried to comfort myself with the fact that the dog was unconcerned and the alarm had still been activated when I’d arrived. Still, my mind replayed potential danger in an endless loop until I was on the ground, hysterically crying and hyperventilating with the dog laying her body over mine to protect me. I eventually learned that my daughter had come by while I was out. It was the first time I realized I’d suffered with severe trauma-related PTSD almost my entire life. 

 

Ironically, it was sharing this realization with a former classmate, who is also a nurse, that allowed me to accept this self-diagnosis and move toward healing. 

 

“You don’t know what trauma is,” she’d spewed. “Your daddy has taken care of every unnecessary thing you’ve ever wanted to do. You don’t know real work or real pain or real trauma. Take your parents out of your life, take your privilege out, then you might know what trauma is. You just like playing the victim.”

 

I was shocked. Not only had I been attacked when I’d expected comfort but she echoed the lies that had been swarming in my head for years. 

 

It was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Because of the absurdity of her statements, I finally stood up for myself. I understood that my fear had real origins and needed to be acknowledged. What I’d always thought had been childish and immature was actually a trauma-based response. Realizing and accepting that I suffered from PTSD is what set me on the road to healing. 

 

I still have mild panic attacks from time to time, but for the most part I sleep alone- in the dark- with ease. I no longer medicate myself to go to sleep nor do I have to fall asleep to the television. It is the restorative sleep I’ve wanted my entire life. I rely on my faith and self-awareness to manage my PTSD now, but that picture looks different for everyone. 

 

However, for every PTSD sufferer, it STARTS with awareness. 

 

If you or someone you know is suffering with PTSD, resources are available.  Visit  https://www.ptsd.va.gov/ for more information. Share on social media with the hashtag #NationalPTSDAwarenessDay.