Thomas Wictor: PTSD and the search for lifelines.

in #ptsd7 years ago

A fake guy says I'm a liar and insane.

His profile is deeply believable.

I'll tell a story about having extreme PTSD, depression, anxiety, and rage.

In 2007, I began taking psychotropics, at the recommendation of my CARDIOLOGIST.

See? Not a quack therapist.

He's a Taiwanese immigrant who cared for my father, mother, and brother.

About as grounded as you can get.

I didn't want to take medication, because of my history of alcoholism and drug abuse.

But my resting pulse rate had gone to 220 beats per minute for no reason:

My cardiologist put me on two psychotropics, and my pulse rate returned to normal.

After I got Meniere's disease, my EAR, NOSE, AND THROAT specialist recommended I see a psychiatrist.

Another non-therapist.

The psychiatrist told me that talk therapy wouldn't be useful, since I already knew what the problem was.

I just didn't have a name for it: PTSD.

I grew up in Venezuela, which was lawless. People murdered each other.

Currently I take nine medications, which have kept me from killing myself or others.

What sometimes happens is that I go into "ruminative loops." Despite the medication, things overwhelm me.

My life is down to about three things, so sometimes when I'm attacked, the defenses break down.

It happened last night. I hated everyone and everything, so in desperation I went on a search. Again.

I've been trying for two years to discover what kind of hand grenade the Norwegian army adopted in 1917.

I looked EVERYWHERE in every language. All I could find was that it was called the Aasen Model 1917.

No pictures of it.

Google Books is constantly adding new titles.

Last night I found the US patent number for the Aasen Model 1917.

Here it is. My two-year search was rewarded. This will go into a future book.

So though I was back in hell last night, I was thrown a lifeline. It made all the difference

That's why I continue. You never know when the next lifeline will come.