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(this has purposely been written in person friendly language - for more formal definitions go to:
Prevalence around childbirth is 1-6% according to researchers over the past ten or more years! Whatever the figure the following is real for sufferers!
1. EVENTS RELATED:
Which means SOMETHING HAPPENED which caused us to feel the following:
HOPELESS, HORRIFIED, HELPLESS AND OUT OF CONTROL and INDEED fearing for our life, and/or the life of our baby or fearful for our bodily (physical) integrity!!
And it is also to be noted: It is now recognised that events or situations may occur over a period of time may also cause ptsd. Therefore in pregnancy, complications or variations from the normal, which over a period time cause us to fear, may also cause ptsd. So perhaps pre-eclampsia, poly or oliglamious, multiple pregnancies, where you began to feel the above.
Therefore PTSD is no longer limited to ONE off events or just events occurring relatively closely together!
Also, if you have already experienced trauma earlier in your life (whether recognised or not), then fearing for your life or personal integrity may arise during aspects of care during pregnancy OR during the birthing process. At TABS an early survey told us that 30% of mothers had experienced earlier trauma, eg sexual or childhood abuse!
2. You may be the actual person that feared for your own life or for the life of the baby.
3. Or you were an observer eg the father of the child/ren, or a birth support person or the actual health professional where events have unravel.
4. Or you may be a health professional, affected and now suffering ptsd.
5. PTSD Is the only externally, environmentally caused MH illness.
6. ANY one subjected to enough stressors can develop ptsd symptoms.
7. PTSD is a permanent injury to the brain. Please refer to the work of these following people:
Prof Cheryl Beck - various research with TABS;
Babette Rothschild - two excellent books on treating PTSD;
John Briere - various publications on ptsd; Stephen Joseph - excellent !
Or Google the following words:
Brain injury and ptsd; brain changes and ptsd; brain damaged by
ptsd?;
brain changes by ptsd; ptsd and symptoms; ptsd and anxiety. ;
(some of the wording is rather technical or lofty - yet but worth the effort - be
patient!)
1. It is either our pregnancy, labour, birth or events during the first 4 weeks following the birth of our baby/s that our traumatic event occurred.
2. This means that we are unable to talk about our trauma, even though we may wish to 24hours a day - 7 days per week, as everyone is focussing on the fact that we have a beautiful baby and so why dwell on what happened!
3. Therefore even though we are troubled by the events they dwell constantly in our mind, or erupt into our fore thinking due to triggers, we may keep them hidden - as this may endanger our relationship with our child and have us judged as poor mothers, and therefore 'they' might take our children from us!
4. We are good at putting on a face.
5. We are good at living our lives in such a way, as to control our nightmares, daymares, intrusive memories, etc, etc!
Many mothers return to work, as this can be the one place that they are deemed to be successful, as did we not fail in our births?
Many mothers plan out their day, so that we do NOT have reminder occurring - eg throwing out the garment that our partner was wearing during the birth!, NOT driving past 'THAT' hospital, turning OFF the tv when any mention is made or programmes relating to birth are screened!, etc, etc.
6. We come to the conclusion that the symptoms were not with us BEFORE the trauma and yes although we MAY have depression (which incidentally we can live with quiet comfortably!), it is all the new anxieties and modus operandus with are fare more troublesome - and on which we focus! These are EXTERNAL and it might be our great desire to rid ourselves of them!
7. We also have a huge suspicion of people in positions of power and authority, and therefore this makes it even harder to seek help, to talk to those (possibly) involved in the original trauma/s and when we do, we are indeed vunerable to secondary trauma by their reactions or acceptance of our story!, thus we get yet traumatised once again, in our attempt to seek help.
8. Sometimes we feel that a visible physical injury or illness might indeed get us the help we are desparately trying to get! Eg a broken arm would be very nice! To let this be the talking point to possibly get our mental/emotional health attended too as well.!
9. We do know that folk around us, are sick of our focus on the trauma, yet it is our desire to UNDERSTAND; TEASE OUT; DELVE INTO; SEEK OUT THE TRUTH OR REALITY OR FACTS beyond our own health conditions or issues THAT ARE OUR FOCUS.
We cannot help the fact that we want to talk, talk, talk, AND do realise that if it were NOT our pregnancy and or childbirth that caused our trauma, then indeed we would have a listen audience.