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Dealing with PTSD without drugs

M

Mafioso

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I was recently diagnosed with PTSD related to abuse in my childhood and my lifestyle later in life. I'm in my late 20s. I'm not totally convinced that I have PTSD, but am still curious to hear how others cope with it and their stories relating to it. I know it may be possible and I have noticed that I seem to react differently to stressful situations. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie.. things like skydiving or driving fast does not scare me just gives me a great deal of excitement and thrill. I actually feel very content and usually am pretty calm.

I'd love to hear your story and how/if you are able to cope with it.
 
I suffered from PTSD also from childhood abuse I went through and most recently an armed robbery.

I went for counselling and at one stage anti depressants and anti anxiety (Ativan)

Things have gotten better for me but it has taken a long time!

Not an adrenaline junkie in fact things like that seem to increase my anxiety levels 8(

It amazes me how many people suffer from PTSD
 
I can't say I 'deal' with it very well, if at all. Writing helps. Exercise as well.

After long periods of deep thought, I begin to discover certain triggers for flashbacks and they're amazingly simple at times, and makes me feel quite out of it. Think about why the things that bother you really bother you. They don't have to.

Abstaining from all depressants is a #1 thing to do. You need to let your own body cope with stress naturally. If you train yourself to go to a drug every time you don't feel right, you'll never feel well without drugs. It's remarkable how much nicer it is for me without buprenorphine/opiates. I didn't get much better but there is a difference in the way I cope with stress, etc.
 
NMDAr antagonists have done more for my PTSD than anything else TBH. And iboga. All other drugs not really at all, although psych meds like gabapentin and trazodone did help while I was on methadone. But really the NMDAr antagonists and learning how to meditate (vipassana-metta) have been the most transformative. Oh, and a really good trauma therapist. I hah the honor of working with a therapist who was a child of holocaust survivors, and that was pretty helpful.

Taking the time to take care of myself, like devoting resources to just me time, and lots of self care care, has also been super helpful.
 
Thanks for the replies. I definitely feel more in control since I have gotten sober.

Is an attraction to danger a symptom of PTSD or is that unrelated?
 
Mafioso said:
Is an attraction to danger a symptom of PTSD or is that unrelated?
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No, it's probably more a symptom of borderline personality disorder, or is an indication of reckless youth. How old are you, and what do you mean by an attraction to danger?
 
I'm almost 30 so I don't really think it's reckless youth, I'm sure I still have some growing to do but I was definitely more reckless 5-10 years ago. I find many things that are dangerous to be fun.. I guess I'm not as bad as I used to be after wrecking 2 cars but I used to drive pretty reckless. I tend to push things to breaking point. I used to do a lot of illegal things on a daily basis and found it be thrilling, now that I have changed my lifestyle I find myself with a desire to take risks for the sake of being risky. I'm going skydiving next weekend and plan to get my license so I can do solo jumps, possibly even base jumping. Things that a lot of other people who appear to be healthy do, but I've always wondered if it wasn't a sort of coping mechanism?

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else with PTSD has similar desires or is it part of my personality?
 
What you're describing can be both a coping mechanism and patent personality trait, both regarding PTSD and other conditions. It is actually pretty common, the adrenaline junkie fixation thing.
 
Sounds like we have similar backgrounds regarding childhood and lifestyle decisions.

Personally for me I smoke weed and lift weights. My doctor recommends cannabis for ptsd as well as exercise. Eat good food too and TRY to get enough sleep. I hate waking up with cold sweats and in nightmares and not being able to go back to sleep. Best of luck to you
 
Mafioso said:
I'm almost 30 so I don't really think it's reckless youth, I'm sure I still have some growing to do but I was definitely more reckless 5-10 years ago. I find many things that are dangerous to be fun.. I guess I'm not as bad as I used to be after wrecking 2 cars but I used to drive pretty reckless. I tend to push things to breaking point. I used to do a lot of illegal things on a daily basis and found it be thrilling, now that I have changed my lifestyle I find myself with a desire to take risks for the sake of being risky. I'm going skydiving next weekend and plan to get my license so I can do solo jumps, possibly even base jumping. Things that a lot of other people who appear to be healthy do, but I've always wondered if it wasn't a sort of coping mechanism?

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else with PTSD has similar desires or is it part of my personality?
Click to expand...

Oh, I've always wanted to go skydiving, but it's so expensive. Parasailing was so much fun though. :D
 
There are a lot of places you can do a tandem skydive for around 100 bucks, but the process of being able to do a solo jump is pretty expensive. Eventually I'd like to be able to go base jumping and then wingsuitting. That would be the dream. Parasailing looks pretty awesome. I've decided since I've gotten clean and changed my lifestyle I need to do these things. They've always been in the back of my mind but now I have no reason not to go after them. They also seem to calm me down and help me be more focused on a daily basis.
 
is there a thread for people with ptsd to rant about their issues? Like a support thread for this condition. I'm tired of waking up every night with cold sweats and its a waking nightmare for hours
 
I was recently diagnosed with PTSD but I don't know how much I actually believe in the diagnosis. I was molested, held up at gun point several times, overdosed 7x's that narcan was involved, had a girlfriend die next to me in bed and been in more car crashes than I can count but I don't really know if any of this qualifies one for PTSD. I always associated that with battle or something. I am an extreme adrenaline junkie and have absolutely no fear outside of social situations. I sky dive, skateboard, used to do ironwork that involved climbing and walking on beams hundreds of feet in the air, I love driving fast and to my friends surprise I actually wrestled with one of the guys that tried to hold me up at gunpoint. Everyone who really knows me already knows not to fuck with me. All the dope dealers used to call me "vato loco". I don't know if any of this has to do with PTSD in anyway but I definitely think that walking a thin line between life and death for half my life has definitely desensitized me to the subject. I have absolutely no fear of pain or death.

All this being said I am not some tough guy or hot head as I am actually a very sensitive person but people know that I have a reputation for not hesitating.
 
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Going through anything trauamatic and especially something violent raises the chances of developing ptsd. I could look up a source from the VA that states that you don't need to be in combat to develop it. Perhaps get a 2nd opinion because I didn't believe that I had PTSD until the 4th doctor said the same thing to me.

Anyways, you don't need to be in a warzone to get it. It's a war on the streets. I just count my blessings everyday and do a gratitude check.
 
I have ptsd from being molested as a kid. It manifests as a variety of symptoms
 
i am so sorry to hear that i don't know the right words to say. Its a confusing feeling. I wake up with flashbacks and it takes a while to get over it in the morning.
 
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No worries no one ever knows what to say. It's a tough thing to talk about. I've heard real good things about emdr therapy. You should look into it.
 
I'm thinking of getting my medical pot card with my diagnosis but I have a feeling the process is not cheap. I started EMDR but didn't stick with it long enough to have any impact unfortunately. It is a long process. I have not been diagnosed with it but I'm probably borderline as well.
 
I'm not sold on the effectiveness of emdr to be honest. It sounds like voodoo to me
 
I believe it has merit, but one therapy protocol will never work for 100% of people. We all have our own unique paths in recovery.
 
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