Loneliness

[Tubthumper79]

Hi. I was diagnosed with CPTSD last March and am still really struggling, despite completing a cft for ptsd course. I feel lonely and stuck- HELP!

[Marnie22 Volunteer]

Hi. Do you mean a Compassion Focused Therapy course? May I ask if the course you did was trauma focused therapy, delivered by a therapist who is trained and experienced in trauma focused therapy? The reason I ask is because, 'standard,' therapy of any type can actually make things worse. I experienced this twice. Quite a lot of people, including therapists, don't seem to know this.

I can highly recommend EMDR therapy. This is the only therapy that I know of that instead of simply teaching coping skills actually reprocesses the trauma and stores it in a different place in the brain so that it is not overwhelming any more. EMDR has completely changed everything for me. I have Complex PTSD too. I did a course in Compassion focused therapy back before I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD. It wasn't designed for PTSD though. It was a great course in general.

If you would like to chat for information or support, please send me a private message.

Sending good wishes. 🌼

P.S. I have found that being on here can help with loneliness.

[Tubthumper79 in reply to Marnie22]

Hi. Yes, I do mean compassion focussed therapy. It was provided by the NHS. How do I get access to EMDR- I have heard great things about it. Thank you for replying x

[Marnie22 Volunteer in reply to Tubthumper79]

I was referred in a very strange way. In 2016 I suffered a brain injury and a few years later I managed to get referred to a neuropsychologist. She diagnosed me with PTSD from things to do with my brain injury. My GP then referred me for EMDR at my local mental health service. I then started EMDR with a brilliant psychologist and once we got into it the psychologist further diagnosed me with Complex PTSD from my childhood.

I think you could just ask your GP. It might be helpful to read up online a bit about C-PTSD and EMDR beforehand. YouTube also has good videos on these things. You can ask me anything if you want to of course. 👍

[Tubthumper79 in reply to Marnie22]

Thank you so much. I will look into it x

[Marnie22 Volunteer in reply to Tubthumper79]

🙂🌼

[BrainIsFull]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. Loneliness seems to be very common here. Good oid job showing up here! 💚

[Tubthumper79 in reply to BrainIsFull]

Thank you- I hate feeling like this 😞

[BrainIsFull in reply to Tubthumper79]

Me too! It truly does suck.

Loneliness, and feeling disconnected to the world is really frightening to me. And I am ashamed of being lonely. As if the feeling itself isn't bad enough.

You are not alone. As you see, there are many of us out here. 💚

[Tubthumper79 in reply to BrainIsFull]

Thank you- I hope we can all support each other. 😊

[Tubthumper79 in reply to BrainIsFull]

Thank you for the welcome. I hope I can be of some support to you too 😊

[Nathalie99 Partner]

Hi Tubthumper79,

Welcome to the community.

Loneliness is really tough and it has come to light just how much the contact with other people is essential to our well being and mental health.

I'm very sorry that the therapy didn't help you for your C-PTSD. It is usual to need to try different types of therapy and find what works at which phase.

The first therapy might not necessarily work and it can be off putting to try a new one but it is really worth a try.

I was relying on hope that things will get better and they did. I think exhaustion from lack of sleep can affect the way we feel considerably so I hope you are able to have sleep and rest as much as you can...

[Dolphin14 Moderator]

I have found even with successful therapy's that build our tool box of survival skills we can always be re triggered. I had an emotional set back yesterday. Today I feel like I've been hit by a bus. My brain knew what was happening but my ❤️ Couldn't take it. I haven't felt that low in a long time.

Please take care of your self as you navigate this difficult diagnosis.

❤️🐬

[BrainIsFull in reply to Dolphin14]

This kind of mirrors my experience in the last few weeks. I finally hat a mini breakdown that lasted for a day. I also have not felt that bad in years. Now I feel better. So kind of extreme moid swings. Scary and confusing.

[Tubthumper79 in reply to BrainIsFull]

I understand that- highs and lows then absolute rock bottom in between

[Dolphin14 Moderator in reply to BrainIsFull]

I'm glad you are feeling better. It sure is draining. I agree it's scary and confusing.

My therapist said it was a PTSD reaction. The past getting tangled in my mind with something that is happening now.

🐬

[Hidden in reply to BrainIsFull]

I find it's helpful to view these moments as some kind of "emotional flashback"

pete-walker.com/13StepsMana...

I've now learnt to recognise them and it helps just to say that |I'm having one.

Glad to hear you're feeling better - can last with me for a day to a few months depending on the severity.

[BrainIsFull in reply to Hidden]

"Emotional Flashback" is a good way to label it I think.

[ray0]

I feel lonely and stuck, too. It's painful to feel this way.