Post Traumatic Stress

abckidsmom

Dances with Patients
3,380
5
36
Do you have any experience with this?

We had a (relatively minor) earthquake a couple of months ago, and I thought that all my earthquake related anxiety would be gone by now. I have found that anything that rumbles the building gives me a little thrill of anxiety: trains passing, big explosions, and (this is the one that's so painful) sleeping in the station that is right by the interstate.

All night long I have nightmares of The Big One that flattens all of our houses.

Today I'm stationed next to our little airport, and it's flaring up my airplane crash PTSD. It's so annoying.

I think we've all experienced stuff that could potentially cause little flares of anxiety in us...what do we do to get this to fade away? I'm getting tired of how worn out I am the day after I try to sleep at that highway station. Those trucks on the rumble strip 200 yards away from my pillow are SCARY!
 

Cawolf86

Forum Captain
361
0
0
In my city we had a major earthquake of 6.7 - named after my town. It was horrible - we had our chimney come down and so much damage to the house. I was much younger then but I can recall being worried for more than a year. I felt quakes that weren't there all the time. I know how you feel. "This too shall pass."
 

firetender

Community Leader Emeritus
2,552
12
38
I lived CA for 20 years and had my share of the shakin'. Don't know if you noticed but you experienced what you once knew as solid ground under your feet turning to pick-up-sticks. The very ground you walked on betrayed you!

That, my dear, is a primal, visceral WTF!?

And it lasts, too...for a while, anyway.

When you think about it, we, as medics tend to delude ourselves with the idea we have some sort of control. But when it comes to nature's burps, we are relegated to something below insignificance and that is scary!

If it's any consolation, the one that gets you (flood, earthquake, tornado, etc., etc.) is usually the one you don't get to anticipate very much.

I say you kind of have to roll it in to the whole relationship with death thing; it's gonna get you no matter what you do so you may as well enjoy what you have while you can as if it won't.

(BTW, I live on the slopes of an active volcano and had a tsunami scare each of the last two years.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

tcd

Forum Probie
20
0
0
In my city we had a major earthquake of 6.7 - named after my town. It was horrible - we had our chimney come down and so much damage to the house. I was much younger then but I can recall being worried for more than a year. I felt quakes that weren't there all the time. I know how you feel. "This too shall pass."

You wouldn't happen to live in Northridge, CA? I lived in Riverside during the Northridge quake and it was my first earthquake experience. Even though I was a good 50-60mi from the epicenter, that thing still scared me. I knew some folks that lived much closer and have heard stories of some getting tossed across the room when it hit. The one thing I remember was that it wasn't a gradual buildup with that one, it was more like someone flipped a switch and the quake was instantly on at full force. That's the scary kind.

As far as earthquakes and plane crashes are concerned, I find comfort in the odds against them occurring (and/or resulting in serious personal injury) and acceptance that they're beyond my control.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Cawolf86

Forum Captain
361
0
0
You wouldn't happen to live in Northridge, CA? I lived in Riverside during the Northridge quake and it was my first earthquake experience. Even though I was a good 50-60mi from the epicenter, that thing still scared me. I knew some folks that lived much closer and have heard stories of some getting tossed across the room when it hit.

I sure did - my parents still live there. I recall being thrown from bed as then just feeling like the ground was a funhouse floor. Horrible feeling. I am actually in Northridge right now as I type this and it gives me anxiety to think about it. Haha.
 

Rettsani

Forum Captain
298
5
18
For me, there are three events that haunt me from time to time, even if I have it processed thanks to very good aftercare.

I remember very well the 1996 fire in the second largest airport in my province at that time 88 people were injured and 17 died.

My first CPR at a big event with over 800 000 visitors.

And one night Which Express derailed on the way from Brussels to Paris in the Neighboring town in 2000. Of 300 people on the train were injured at that time 149 heavy, 9 died.

What remained of the events is a slight jumpiness when it is noisy around me, the fear of failure in the rescue operation and the tendency to withdraw when something is too much for me. But I think that's nearly normal. One learns over the years always better to deal with events.

I've trained myself to talk about things when it comes to me once badly.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

VCEMT

Forum Captain
297
2
18
I get very scared when changing a light bulb. One blew up on me as a child. I have another one but... Let's just say, I don't slumpbust.
 

MSDeltaFlt

RRT/NRP
1,422
35
48
Anything that gives you frequent nightmares should be talked about openly with someone trained to handle such issues. You, my dear, need a counselor.
 

Rettsani

Forum Captain
298
5
18
Anything that gives you frequent nightmares should be talked about openly with someone trained to handle such issues. You, my dear, need a counselor.

I'll give absolute right.
I'm glad that we have an emergency after-care team.
It consists of trained psychologists, emergency chaplain and volunteers in psychosocial support are.
In addition, we are already on the rescue service school trained in the prevention and detection of post-traumatic stress syndrome. ^_^
 
Last edited by a moderator:

bigbaldguy

Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
4,043
42
48
I find that my anxiety about anything tends to increase exponentially in proportion to my overall stress levels. Little things that are normally mildly irritating grew to near phobic levels after my dad died for instance. Anxiety is a vicious cycle that feeds on itself.
 
OP
OP
abckidsmom

abckidsmom

Dances with Patients
3,380
5
36
Anything that gives you frequent nightmares should be talked about openly with someone trained to handle such issues. You, my dear, need a counselor.

I honestly hadn't given that a thought. I've now worked 2 shifts at that station without nightmares.

Duly noted for the next time it happens, I just thought everybody who was scared of something dreams about it.
 

Melclin

Forum Deputy Chief
1,796
4
0
I honestly hadn't given that a thought. I've now worked 2 shifts at that station without nightmares.

Forum catharsis perhaps?

Do you have some kind of peer support system? Someone within your system, who understands what you've experienced, who you can have a casual, but still cathartic chat with? I hope so. If not, I agree with MS, have a chat to a priest/counsellor/psychiatrist...whichever is your chosen flavour of helping hand. Sure does help me.

Everybody dreams, but its the extent to which it impacts upon your life that is the issue. If its a lot, then you probably need to do something about it.
That, my dear, is a primal, visceral WTF!?

I like this.

I'll give absolute right.
I'm glad that we have an emergency after-care team.
It consists of trained psychologists, emergency chaplain and volunteers in psychosocial support are.
In addition, we are already on the rescue service school trained in the prevention and detection of post-traumatic stress syndrome. ^_^

You and me both mate. I'm glad of our system.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
OP
abckidsmom

abckidsmom

Dances with Patients
3,380
5
36
Forum catharsis perhaps?

Do you have some kind of peer support system? Someone within your system, who understands what you've experienced, who you can have a casual, but still cathartic chat with? I hope so. If not, I agree with MS, have a chat to a priest/counsellor/psychiatrist...whichever is your chosen flavour of helping hand. Sure does help me.

Everybody dreams, but its the extent to which it impacts upon your life that is the issue. If its a lot, then you probably need to do something about it.

I have lots of support, and a hubby who made it from the 3rd floor dayroom at his station to the apron outside before the shaking stopped. He gets it.

When the earthquake first happened, the aftershocks were in the m3-4 range, now they are m2.1-2.5...hardly anything and I don't wake up for them anymore. At that station by the highway, trucks on the buzzer strip must be more than a m2.5 localized rumble.

Everyone in our area has this problem. A visceral WTF doesn't let go easily. I'm one of the extremely laid back ones, I guess I push it down in normal life, so the only way out for the anxiety is in my dreams.
 

Rettsani

Forum Captain
298
5
18
You and me both mate. I'm glad of our system.

I like the system, although the older paramedics are among the newcomers believe it was an absolute weakness experienced openly talk about.

I still do sometimes when I first talked about experiences at the ambulance station. As a paramedic came to me and said: We do not talk about we forget about what happened. And if you can not cope with what you experienced then you're not suited for the job.

A year later, this paramedic's job hung on the nail because he could not.-_-

And now I'm just still be there. I think the reason for it that I can talk about things although it is sometimes difficult.

The only time where I am nearly failed to myself was in the last 3 - 4 years. Because the doctors said unpleasant things. And I felt totally alone, because neither "friends" or colleagues were there for me in my distress. It felt very Worthless, like when I would be throwing away the object is because it's broken. This feeling worse than any disaster.
 
Top