Good Stress + Bad Stress + PTSD
Many people, myself included, with PTSD have a hard time understanding why they can no longer juggle stress as they did prior to living with PTSD, particularly bad stress. Little things that maybe annoyed me before but never caused a reaction will now randomly make me lose it! i.e., bawling bc my phone charger in my car wasn’t working *bc it wasn’t plugged in*, getting angry because a stranger looked at me, toilet paper on the wrong way, a cabinet left open, waking up to a zit in the middle of my forehead, etc. Those reactions drove me absolutely crazy because they were so foreign to me. I knew better but felt like I had zero control. Who was I? As I’m sure you can imagine if you’ve experienced PTSD, they started all kinds of downward spirals UNTIL I was introduced to this theory:
Let me dive in to give you a better understanding of the difference between someone with PTSD and someone without:
Cup 1
Represents everyone. We all have good stress in our lives. Things like going to work, making a new meal, waking up early for race, going on a first date, riding a roller coaster, etc. Things that make you feel excited without feeling threatened.
Cup 2
Also represents everyone. Along with the good stress, we all have bad stress in our lives too. Things like filing for divorce, being laid off, COVID-19, injury or illness, etc. Even with all off the good and bad stress there is still room to process without overflowing (losing it)!
Cup 3
Represents those with PTSD still have the same amount of good and bad stress as everyone else. The problem is we also have PTSD. As you can see in the diagram those with PTSD and good stress have hardly any room to process the same amount of bad stress as those in cup 2. So when something like a phone charger not working can cause a breakdown. Simply because there is no room at the time to process that stress.
I hope this helps you as much as it helps me. Remember, anyone at any age can get PTSD. It can come from war, physical and sexual assault, disasters, abuse, tragic accidents, close to death experience, friend or family exposed to danger or harm. The list goes on and on.
If ever you “lose it” over something so minor like a phone charger not working, be kind to yourself. It’s not you, it’s trauma. If you know or see someone “lose it” over something so minor like a cabinet being left open, be kind to them too. There are a lot of people processing a lot of pain.
Don’t lose hope! There are ways to healthily process PTSD to allow more space for good and bad stress. More on that later!
Until then, be mighty,
Bre
