How often do you find yourself explaining PTSD to others?

Yep, we do know each other from another discussion! Which I need to get back to sometime today, but I haven't felt I have the brain power to absorb everything you said there yet. =p Thanks for sharing! I get tired of explaining sometimes too, but I do find myself doing it sometimes anyway.

Hey, thought I'd at least throw some suggestions and info your way, and then you could take your time in digesting it all. And, I could perhaps help you out as I learn the stuff myself. (The Deaf and hard of hearing world is a whole lot bigger than a lot of people think. It is often a surprise to find out just how big. We have barely even begun to scratch the surface. And, the Deaf languages and cultures in other countries are different than in the US.) Between the PTSD, pinched nerves, and other disabilities, I really don't have many friends or much of a social life anymore. Other people are often not very understanding. It seems that few people who don't have PTSD understand what it is and what it does. I've been labeled as being "mental" and "crazy" by some rather ignorant people. You'd think there would be a lot more public awareness since 9-11's terrorist attacks. But, there still is a long ways to go. More later. Back to icing my back and pouring another cup of coffee.

It sounds like it would be really tough to have a social life for you. I'm sorry it's like that. For me, with all my health problems, and the fact that I have a young child, I don't often get to go out other than to go to work. I spend a lot of time at home online, or with my husband and son. I do have some really close friends that were friends of my husband's before I moved here, and every Monday some of them come to visit at our home for a roleplaying game. I've been pretty lucky in that over the years that group of people has become really used to my PTSD, and are good at both knowing how to react when I do have a problem, and treating me normally even afterwards. It wasn't always like that. When I was in high school, I was branded a weirdo and treated differently because I freaked out if you touched me unexpectedly, and sometimes when certain topics were discussed I would just flee the room. Even now, sometimes there are situations for me at work or among people other than my close friends where I come out looking like a "crazy" because I have a reaction caused by the PTSD. I have a really hard time making new friends because of it. I'm so scared of meeting new people in the first place, and then even when I do take a chance I find they don't understand me, either because of my health problems or my PTSD. There are so many times I've been asked to do activities that are really physical, that I can't do either because of my lung problems or because of my Meniere's disease. And I've had friends invite me to see movies that I won't watch because I know they would trigger me. It's hard having so many things that set you apart from everyone around you.

but oh the fun that could be had in an institution! seriously..I could have such a wonderful time...just hook me up to a morphine drip, nevermind if I forget to put on undies and my butt sticks out the back of my gown and for the LOVE OF PETE KEEP THE DOORS LOCKED LOL or I'll roam the entire hospital and be a cheeky little monkey

Thanks for your response, ravenladyj. =) I've found that people are pretty oblivious to the existence of such disorders too. Or that people that have them might lead fairly normal lives now. Whenever I start talking to people about my disorder, or about my history, they're really surprised because their image of someone with such a problem doesn't fit with what I'm actually like: holding a job, being intelligent, having a husband and child, etc. People often think it's suprising I'm not locked up too. =p

*nods* That's a very good point. I knew a guy in high school who would intentionally hit some of my triggers just to see me freak out, and continued to do this until I finally beat the snot out of him, and then he went on this huge rant about how he hadn't really done anything to hurt me. *growls* I like that metaphor you use, it's very good. It's true, triggering someone on purpose is just as bad as pushing a wheelchair over.

I rather assumed that if someone had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (which is what PTSD stands for) they would have heard the acronym before. So I didn't bother explaining because I was mainly looking for responses from people who had the problem, or a loved one who had it. You're right though, using acronyms without explaining them is annoying. I'm sorry.