PTSD Re-Surfacing vs. 'Normal' Response to Traumatic Events

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How do you tell the difference between the two? I was rear-ended in an accident caused by a drunk driver this past Friday and am a mess. (http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt173413.html)

I have a lot of childhood trauma from my late father's alcoholism/emotional abuse, including some incidents as a child where I was a passenger in a vehicle when he was driving drunk and was almost killed. The whole event on Friday, the three-ring circus-like scene at the accident with the drunk guy getting beligerent and resisting arrest, the stress of dealing with the insurance companies and knowing I'm screwed, since the guy is under-insured and my car has only 3,000 miles on it and is less than half-way paid off, would have caused most people to be upset, lose sleep, etc. But, for me, it also strirred up other emotional, PTSD-like issues stemming from my childhood experiences, too.

I've really been a mess. I keep re-living everything in my head, I can't sleep or concentrate on anything and for the past few hours, all I have been able to do is cry. I have hardly any support network right now because I can't talk to family about any of this. We are not close and I can't really trust or depend upon them, but I am also too angry to talk about the childhood stuff with them because they pretty much sat back and allowed it to happen, as far as I'm concerned. And, my closest friend, who's a guy, has been sort of avoiding me; I just learned last night he's been dating someone new and I'm guessing she is not comfortable with me talking with him so much or something.

I feel like I'm falling apart and I don't know what to do. I really want to be able to talk to a therapist, but I would like to be able to talk to one with an understanding of Asperger's or, in my experience, there is almost no point to me going to therapy. There is a good one about 20 minutes away from me with extensive experience in both adults with AS and PTSD, but I don't think she will take my insurance. I can't afford paying out of pocket and am wondering if I should talk to a lawyer, since the accident caused all of this to surface, but I really don't want to have to testify in court. This guy who caused the accident has quite a rap sheet, is in the local police log all the time, and has my address (where I live alone) after we exchanged insurance and contact info following the accident. Plus, that would take forever, I'm guessing, before I would get any sort of compensation, if I would have a case, and I'm not sure if I do or not.

Do you think I should give it some time, to see if some of this goes away gradually? Like I said, I know most people, even those without similar backgrounds and experiences making things worse, would be upset over the event. I'm not sure what to do. Sorry for the long, rambling post; thanks for any advice/help anyone can give.

I can really relate to what you're saying.

Personally, I think that the fact that I live alone and have literally no IRL friends or family really exacerbates my "emotionality" far beyond what it would be if I had someone to talk to and keep it in perspective.

I would consider talking it out with a therapist, not so much for practical advice or "therapeutic" ends, but simply as a surrogate friend/sounding board to help you through this.

WP is a great resource too, I think I would be much worse off without it...

Good luck!

Thanks. I got back into my normal routine today and I think that structure has been helpful. I still recognize I have some things to work on, but am functional for the timebeing.

Just out of curiosity, do you work from home, too? I thought I'd recalled you saying that before. I'd imagine that would be even more challenging. I live alone, but have a fairly people-intensive job and many evenings, it's a relief to come home to an empty apartment. It's mainly on the weekends when I have time to myself that I think more and things get to me.

I have PTSD and if anything it has gotten progressively worse, I know what event specifically caused it but since then a lot of stuff negative stuff from my childhood has sort of started resurfacing...and I keep getting caught up in thinking about it and pretty much reliving it all in my head......it has been sort of been putting me on edge lately and when combined with some other stress it is pretty overwhelming but I have gave up on trying to find help for it for the time being, and am just trying to keep going with life. I did find some good concerts to go to this month and next month so that gives me something to look forward to.

But yeah having been in therapy before multiple times and really not being helped I have become skeptical of it, so that is one reason I don't want to bother with it....not to mention I don't exactly have the finances to throw money around to various therapists until I find one who can help. So I can understand that.

Not sure what you should do, if you do want to go to therapy, I would suggest maybe finding out if there are any who are knowledgeable about AS who you could afford....or maybe the one you mentioned has options for people who can't afford it. It is really up to you.

Hi blueroses...sounds like a tough situation. If there's anyway you can swing the therapy sessions, it would probably help you a lot. I would say that last week's accident was probably a trigger for prior traumatic experiences. I'm sorry you've had to deal with so much stuff all at once.

^^Thanks.

Yeah, that is pretty much where I am, too.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I have the same issue. I was referred to a psychiatrist last year who was so bad, I got up & walked out during the session. A lot of them are useless...met my fair share of worthless shrinks who don't listen & don't give a rat's behind about the patient.

Still if you are having severe issues due to PTSD, you might consider it just to get a handle on your symptoms. Or alternatively, if you have a friend or family member who can just listen to you about what you are experiencing might be a decent substitute.