healing from trauma/ PTSD and emotional abandoment
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: aberystwyth
Posts: 4
healing from trauma/ PTSD and emotional abandoment
Hi I'm seeking recovery from both chemical dependency - codependency issues and found recovery through the 12 step program of recovery.
I became aware in 2011 that there was something very wrong with me emotionally as well as spiritually and have since discovered I am an adult child suffering from unresolved core childhood abandonment issues connected alcoholism and trauma keeping me trapped and come to understand I display symptoms to those found in people suffering from post traumatic stress disorders
I hope to discover the truth behind this complex disorder so I can grow in recovery and help others find healing, wholeness and belonging in the world and would like to hear from any one who is on a similar journey.
The illness of addiction / alcoholism has kept me a prisoner for to long however PTSD has kept me separated and isolated from the outside world and so hope this post will help me find inner peace and spiritual healing/
I became aware in 2011 that there was something very wrong with me emotionally as well as spiritually and have since discovered I am an adult child suffering from unresolved core childhood abandonment issues connected alcoholism and trauma keeping me trapped and come to understand I display symptoms to those found in people suffering from post traumatic stress disorders
I hope to discover the truth behind this complex disorder so I can grow in recovery and help others find healing, wholeness and belonging in the world and would like to hear from any one who is on a similar journey.
The illness of addiction / alcoholism has kept me a prisoner for to long however PTSD has kept me separated and isolated from the outside world and so hope this post will help me find inner peace and spiritual healing/
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 377
Good morning, thank you for sharing, and you are not alone. I also suffer from PTSD, after 5 years of sexual abuse when I was a child.
My abuse started when I was 6/7, and when my daughter turned that age I started having flashbacks and intense nightmares. How did I cope? I turned to alcohol. Slowly it got out of control and I was drinking every day until blackout. In April I went to a psychiatrist who was an enormous help! He helped me realize the tie between my age as a child and my daughter's, how I did what I needed to to survive and that there are other way to cope.
Nope, I didn't trust him at first, didn't take his advice to quit drinking or go to AA. I did learn some meditating techniques (Google EFT) and just in the past month have I taken it seriously and I am now 1 week sober and not looking back. I haven't had a flashback all week!!!
There is a better way, please believe me.
My abuse started when I was 6/7, and when my daughter turned that age I started having flashbacks and intense nightmares. How did I cope? I turned to alcohol. Slowly it got out of control and I was drinking every day until blackout. In April I went to a psychiatrist who was an enormous help! He helped me realize the tie between my age as a child and my daughter's, how I did what I needed to to survive and that there are other way to cope.
Nope, I didn't trust him at first, didn't take his advice to quit drinking or go to AA. I did learn some meditating techniques (Google EFT) and just in the past month have I taken it seriously and I am now 1 week sober and not looking back. I haven't had a flashback all week!!!
There is a better way, please believe me.
Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Probably my living room. Maybe my bedroom if I'm feeling lazy
Posts: 1,085
Welcome!
I have PTSD from various medical traumas throughout my life.
I've managed with a combination of meds and AA. I still get flashbacks and nightmares, especially lately because I have another surgery coming up next month, but these symptoms no longer drive me to drink. And the meds have eliminated the daily panic attacks I was having.
I have PTSD from various medical traumas throughout my life.
I've managed with a combination of meds and AA. I still get flashbacks and nightmares, especially lately because I have another surgery coming up next month, but these symptoms no longer drive me to drink. And the meds have eliminated the daily panic attacks I was having.
Sober Newbie
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 36
Hi - I'm new too - and thanks for sharing. I suffer from PTSD as well, and it can be a particularly insidious thing to deal with/recover from. I've used some therapy and especially a technique called EMDR (it has to do with recalling events and breaking through them to lessen their power over you) that has really helped me a lot.
Like you I have definitely felt a "prisoner" for far too long. Let us find a way out of prison together.
Best,
Mike
Like you I have definitely felt a "prisoner" for far too long. Let us find a way out of prison together.
Best,
Mike
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: South East England
Posts: 8,009
Welcome to SR,
There are many people here who will be able to relate to your story. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and another psychatric disorder. I drank for many years, but it wasn't until I had been sober for about 3 months or so that the fog lifted enough for me to face the things I had been hiding from for years.
I also got sober through AA, but I needed specialist help beyond that. My PTSD manifested itself in anxiety, flashbacks, night terrors and a heightened sense of vigilance of the world around me.
In addition to intensive counselling from a therapist trained in childhood trauma and alcohol addiction, I also began to take up exercise and meditation.
At almost 17 months sober, I am able to see real progress. I very rarely have night terrors now, my flashbacks and anxiety have decreased and I am much calmer. I am more accepting of myself and my idiosyncrasies and because of that I don't dread panic attacks any more.
I have learned how to be grateful for the life I have now rather than mourning the childhood I was denied. I am happy and positive and consider myself one of the lucky ones to have escaped from my alcoholic hell before it was too late.
All this started with quitting the drink. It was the best move I ever made.
Wishing you the same good fortune x
There are many people here who will be able to relate to your story. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and another psychatric disorder. I drank for many years, but it wasn't until I had been sober for about 3 months or so that the fog lifted enough for me to face the things I had been hiding from for years.
I also got sober through AA, but I needed specialist help beyond that. My PTSD manifested itself in anxiety, flashbacks, night terrors and a heightened sense of vigilance of the world around me.
In addition to intensive counselling from a therapist trained in childhood trauma and alcohol addiction, I also began to take up exercise and meditation.
At almost 17 months sober, I am able to see real progress. I very rarely have night terrors now, my flashbacks and anxiety have decreased and I am much calmer. I am more accepting of myself and my idiosyncrasies and because of that I don't dread panic attacks any more.
I have learned how to be grateful for the life I have now rather than mourning the childhood I was denied. I am happy and positive and consider myself one of the lucky ones to have escaped from my alcoholic hell before it was too late.
All this started with quitting the drink. It was the best move I ever made.
Wishing you the same good fortune x
to the family! You'll find a lot of support and useful info here. Glad you joined us. 
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