How to Recognize the Early Symptoms of PTSD
And the amazing benefits of gradual exposure.
I couldn’t stop crying. I was reliving the same horrific nightmare on repeat, and yet I was awake. My mind was like a TV screen in crystal clear HD, except it played nightmarish scenes and had no off button.
I’d never heard of post-traumatic stress disorder and had no idea what was happening to me. It felt like I was losing my mind. At times, it was so frightening I thought I was dying. In a way, I was right.
It took a long time for me to get diagnosed with PTSD. By then, they had taken complete hold of me. The quicker you recognize the symptoms, the faster you can get treatment.
It all started at a run-down tower block.
I was a police officer, and it was 3 am on a Saturday. The clubs had all emptied, and most people had gone home. I was crewed with my sergeant as the passenger and struggled to stay awake.
By a twist of fate, my colleague called me over the radio, which meant I couldn’t hear general traffic or jobs coming out. Not much was happening, and he was bored, too. He wondered if I was coming back to the station.
Out of nowhere, my sergeant turned the lights and sirens on, and we sped off in the opposite…
