@merpreb Thank you for asking me to comment.
@wisco50 Good to meet you. As you can see, there are many helpful people here, and we each have our own stories, our own journeys' experiences. What may be considered or diagnosed as PTSD in one person, may be given a different name by another professional. We end up relying on ourselves, and looking out for ourselves. It doesn't mean that what happened didn't happen, it means we have to decide to be a victor over the effects of it. It takes work, oftentimes hard work over a long period, and we will sometimes backslide a little. And it's okay. Working with PTSD shows we are indeed strong, and think enough of ourselves to want to feel and live better.
I invite you to look at this discussion group, and see how our stories may help you out https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anyone-else-with-ptsd/
Ginger

Thank you for sharing and caring. Yes, I did see a good therapist when I realized I was having the same recurring nightmare. The entire actual situation shook me up so badly that I refused to go see anyone else by myself after that happened. TG a friend stepped forward to help me, accompanying me to office visits with a new provider office (ultimately the place I finally got the correct diagnosis). The irony of it all was I worked as an RN myself, and was known for being able to handle difficult/obnoxious doctors. It’s very different when you are the patient and also this was initially diagnosed as a “dental/TMJ” issue - that meant not only was I out of my element but also every single step I took, my insurance company fought me constantly. Long story short, they don’t want to pay for “TMJ” problems because they see it as either dental and/or think it’s in your head (it was, my jaw joints, haha!). Anyway, after going over the whole story with the therapist, she’s the one who said it seemed as if I had PTSD. This was a few years after my successful surgery. I felt I needed to file a formal complaint about this supposed “specialist” dentist with the State Board of Licensing & Regulation. The therapist thought it would help me to get it all out, and it did. Of course, ultimately it was a “the patient said” vs “the dentist said” according to the Board. IF they had done any digging, they might have found evidence behind my complaint but it would have taken work on their part. I found a site where other patients had similar experiences as I did! I had lots of notes. But, water under the bridge. It helped for a long time. But now, for whatever reason, it’s suddenly back and interrupting my sleep. Argh.