do i have ptsd?

[jjslinkey]

hi lads

best way to start this post is by telling ye all a bit about me. im a rescue worker, joind my rescue team when i was 16 years old and i love it! but just as with any job in the emergancy service, stressful. im 22 now and lately ive started geting flash backs and bad dreams about a call i atended when i was 17? we were out searching open coutry for a 12 yearold boy gone missing. this search was one of the most dramatic in the entire country. it went on for two weeks untill the boys body was found.(i dint find the body) i was in charge of my units team and we were all out searching for the 2 weeks straight from 4am to dark and this search impacted us all. now most rescue workers and ems lads will know what i mean here.... when you are in that sort of a situation you put up a wall. but what happend me was when the poor boys body was found i let the wall down, but on the way back to the station we got the call that there was a body in the river in the town. on with the lights and down to the river. i jumped out of the van and ran down to the river, saw a body caught on a tree. took my personal line and gave it to a cop. i took one end of the rope and made my way out to the body. when i was makeing my way out i could feel the hairs on my neck starting ta stand up, i was geting scared i guess, but i shook my head and said "this is my job, get it done and think about how scared you are when you are back on dry land" i went out whent ta grab the body but the damn thing rolled over giveing me a good veiw of th poors mans face. i will never forget the eyes.... honestly they were looking right through me! eventualy i managed to get the body back to shore where he was pronounced dead. 5 mins later i was in a truck on the way to the fire sation to see a councilor.... but i didnt fell i could talk to him because he was not there and didnt realy have any idea what i went through or did. and worse yet i didnt whant to talk to my team members because i did not what to remind them of the search. but any way.... now im starting to jump when im asleep and have bad dreams and as im sure my girlfriend can testify to my fuse is geting short. is it to late to go see someone? and does it sound like i should? would it be a waste of time? or do just need to find away of leting go? there is alot more to this story that i would rather not say in a post just in case it gets back to the familys of those involved but i hope ye all get the gist of what im saying.

thanks

[WelshMedic]

Hi,

Without wanting to label your problem "PTSD". I do think that the fact you are having flashbacks to an incident that happened so long ago does not bode well. I would urge you to seek out professional help as soon as possible. This will not go away without help. Oh, and it's not a sign of weakness: I have been down the same road and have come out the other side a better practitioner for it.

WM

[firedoc5]

Hi,

Without wanting to label your problem "PTSD". I do think that the fact you are having flashbacks to an incident that happened so long ago does not bode well. I would urge you to seek out professional help as soon as possible. This will not go away without help. Oh, and it's not a sign of weakness: I have been down the same road and have come out the other side a better practitioner for it.

WM

Pretty much what I was going to say. Counseling is not a weakness. More and more systems are offering "debriefing" sessions monthly to talk about such issues. If your service offers any help, take it. You'll be fine. For the longest time I thought I'd tough through it. It doesn't work all alone.

If need be, PM someone here. I started at 17 and can more than relate.

[jjslinkey]

thanks lads...... nice ta have such support form strangers..... gona explain the situation to my 1st officer asap and see what happens then. might try and talk to some of the crew that where with me, see how they feel.

thanks again.

[Dustdevil]

What has happened to you lately? Usually, when something rears it's head like this way down the line, something triggers it. Any similarly traumatic runs lately? Family or job stress? Lose a friend or relative? If you can identify and deal with the current problem, that is commonly all that is necessary to shove the old one back into the closet too.

Good luck!

[jjslinkey]

What has happened to you lately? Usually, when something rears it's head like this way down the line, something triggers it. Any similarly traumatic runs lately? Family or job stress? Lose a friend or relative? If you can identify and deal with the current problem, that is commonly all that is necessary to shove the old one back into the closet too.

Good luck!

tjat has got me thinking..... my dad was in a crash on his motorbike a few months ago, hes ok thank god (minus a finger). it was my mam who rang me to tell me and i raced to the sceen and got there before the bulance. i think this could of braught it all back, because the feeling were prity similar after the whole thing was over. what ye think?

[Dustdevil]

There ya go. I never had any problems until after working an airliner crash back around 87. The weird thing was that I didn't have nightmares from that crash. That crash caused me to have nightmares about previous crashes. It's a delayed trigger. It all resolved spontaneously with time, and caused no significant disruption, other than a few rough nights of tossing and turning.

If this goes on and on, then obviously it is best to consult a licensed mental health professional who can evaluate the problem and address it competently instead of just taking a guess, as I am doing, lol. They really can help! But until that time, simply working on eliminating the stressors in your life can make a major difference. Perhaps working on any shortcomings in your relationship with your father, if any. Get lots of exercise and keep yourself busy so that, at the end of the day, you are tired, and your mind is not idle.

Good luck!