# PTSD and Social Anxiety



## ArtisaRica (Oct 9, 2009)

I never had a problem with social anxiety until after I went through an exceptionally traumatic experience this past spring. That's why I figure my social anxiety is related to PTSD.

Can anyone else relate to this?

Sweating, shaking, heart racing and the intense feeling that everything I say is stupid or idiotic... it's aging me I swear. I have developed a really good relationship with myself because- simply- being around other people is a huge ordeal that I can't readily handle.


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## Thomas Paine (Mar 29, 2008)

I had it before, but going through trauma definitely took it to a whole different level.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

I had PTSD when i was really young, and it didn't help my SA at all. So yes certainly PTSD can contribute to SA, specially if the traumatic event involved other people in a negative situation. 

@Thomas Paine: are you a fan of the revolutionary Thomas Paine?


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## Thomas Paine (Mar 29, 2008)

jim_morrison said:


> @Thomas Paine: are you a fan of the revolutionary Thomas Paine?


I am. Even though I fear he might not like me using his name, I do it anyway because he was kind of an ******* anyway. haha. But yeah, if he died today, I would be one of those couple of people at his funeral. The ones left over after he pissed everyone else off too much.


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

I have PTSD and SA. I actually have a very hard time separating PTSD from the SA. They are very related in my life. Sometimes it seems like the SA is a symptom of the PTSD. I didn't go thru one trauma, rather I had a very traumatic childhood in many ways with a variety of people & situations. Many people on SAS have mentioned being bullied when younger. I had this happen, and a lot more. 

The PTSD can shake you up in a way so that you feel like you went off track. Like an old record player being bumped so the needle skips and never goes back to where it belongs. At least that's how it feels to me. 

I agree with jim_morrison that if the negative event involved people, this can logically end up manifesting as SA. When the PTSD is caused by other people, trust is shattered. Not only trust in others, but in yourself too--in trusting your own judgment. And self-doubt can then make you very anxious around others. 

I can relate to what you mention and I think it's very possible that your SA is like a sub-part of the PTSD.


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

But then again, there are a lot of people on here who believe they were born with SA, which, by definition, is unrealted to PTSD. In my case, I think I learned the extreme level of interpersonal anxiety through traumatic experiences. Especially rejection. :um


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Pam said:


> I have PTSD and SA. I actually have a very hard time separating PTSD from the SA. They are very related in my life. Sometimes it seems like the SA is a symptom of the PTSD. I didn't go thru one trauma, rather I had a very traumatic childhood in many ways with a variety of people & situations.


Thats alot like me, it all happened constantly over a period of years when I was really young, rather than one specific trauma.

One thing I've noticed about PTSD though, is that I often feel detached from my emotions, sometimes to the point where people close to me tell me that I seem somewhat robotic, and when a tragedy does happen, even though I know I feel devistated inside, I just cant cry at all or feel or show it on the outside. Which is weird, btw i think in war this phenomenon is referred to as the "Thousand-yard stare".


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## cyndy (Jul 28, 2009)

this is really ironic... i just started a thread about ptsd. i hadn't seen this one. after being struck by a car at age 14 (i already had slight sa) the traumatic event and subsequent surgeries and hospital stays and pity and teasing from classmates really screwed me up. plus it made my parents uber protective. i was never allowed to leave the house, especially every oct. 10 (the anniversary). the docs never mentioned ptsd (in 1985 it wasn't a household term) all they did was tell me i would be suffering arthritis by my mid 20's (true) and would never be able to carry a child full term because of the damage done to my pelvis.
all of these things have really messed me up. can you be diagnosed with ptsd 24 years after the fact and how do i stop the consant replays of that day in my mind?


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## Lumiere (Jun 13, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Thats alot like me, it all happened constantly over a period of years when I was really young, rather than one specific trauma.
> 
> One thing I've noticed about PTSD though, is that I often feel detached from my emotions, sometimes to the point where people close to me tell me that I seem somewhat robotic, and when a tragedy does happen, even though I know I feel devistated inside, I just cant cry at all or feel or show it on the outside. Which is weird, btw i think in war this phenomenon is referred to as the "Thousand-yard stare".


Those symptoms describe me exactly, and it's something I've been concerned about, to be honest. It's not that I don't feel emotion or empathy; I do, but as in your description, I feel a detachment from those emotions.

I had a pretty traumatic childhood. Constantly so, from my earliest years to my early teens, by which point the SA had already taken hold. I was also in a fairly serious car crash at the age of 9, but physically I was relatively unharmed (just scratches and bruises, the rest of my family had more serious injuries as a result).
I'm wondering now if I had PTSD... and whether or not I still have it.


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## hopena (Feb 21, 2005)

Pam said:


> I have PTSD and SA. I actually have a very hard time separating PTSD from the SA. They are very related in my life. Sometimes it seems like the SA is a symptom of the PTSD. I didn't go thru one trauma, rather I had a very traumatic childhood in many ways with a variety of people & situations. Many people on SAS have mentioned being bullied when younger. I had this happen, and a lot more.
> 
> The PTSD can shake you up in a way so that you feel like you went off track. Like an old record player being bumped so the needle skips and never goes back to where it belongs. At least that's how it feels to me.
> 
> ...


I agree. It's thought that my SA stems from PTSD.


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## Pam (Feb 14, 2009)

jim_morrison said:


> Thats alot like me, it all happened constantly over a period of years when I was really young, rather than one specific trauma.
> 
> One thing I've noticed about PTSD though, is that I often feel detached from my emotions, sometimes to the point where people close to me tell me that I seem somewhat robotic, and when a tragedy does happen, even though I know I feel devistated inside, I just cant cry at all or feel or show it on the outside. Which is weird, btw i think in war this phenomenon is referred to as the "Thousand-yard stare".


That feeling oddly detached from your own feelings is a symptom of PTSD. (and the opposite of that can happen too--reliving a past hurt/having a flashback & then overreacting emotionallly) Have you noticed that you can be more "in control" and not lose it when a crisis happens? It's like a crisis happens, and everyone else is all hysterical, but inside you there is this calm. I think it's because everyone else is being jerked out of their normal life, but people with PTSD seem to live outside the norm all the time because we've already been yanked out of normal situations. Like we're used to bad things happening, and part of us is saying "What's the big deal?" Don't know if I'm making sense. I think the emotional numbing is actually a way of protecting us from having to re-experience the horrible emotions associated with the original traumas. (I personally relive stuff & have flashbacks and overreact in the present to things, which really annoys people by the way :roll , rather than the numbing)


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