I can't have PTSD. I'm not a soldier.

For some reason, I thought the word was out, but I had another client tell me he had been talking to friends about his struggles and they told him it couldn't be PTSD because he had never been in a war.  We went through the DSM-5 criteria and indeed he met most of them.  On the other hand, I am working with a soldier who has PTSD...but it's not from the 2 tours in Iraq.  It's from childhood trauma.

So what is a trauma?  Simply put it is a horrifying event.  You experience horror.  You almost die.  You think you might die.  You are beaten You see someone else die, or be beaten.  You are raped.  You hear about a family member who was killed.  In other words, you feel very intense fear and helplessness.  This cannot be happening, but it is.  Who decides what is traumatic to you?  You do.

Who gets PTSD?  Some people who experience horrific events are haunted by them later.  Some are not.  We are not exactly sure why.  There are some ideas about resilience and a strong attachment bond with family.

The good news is that there is help.  You do not have to be haunted by nightmares or intrusive thoughts or memories for the rest of your life.  EMDR is a proven treatment that alleviates PTSD.  There are also treatments that help manage PTSD.  EMDR can eliminate it.  Will it work for you?  Are willing to find out?