Question: I almost drowned and now with a part of my PTSD sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe even though all is OK. Once I get this feeling I have to fight to take the next breath and it feels like I can’t or I won’t be able to and I start to panic but then I do and then it repeats and during this I will by squezzing my stomach and chest muscles so hard they will hurt for hours after. I know I am supposed to try to do deep diaphramic breathing when I get like this but I can barely take tiny shallow breaths so that does not work.

Rebecca Ashton Says...:

Thank you for your question. It sounds to me like you haven't processed what happened to you. If you're not already seeing someone, I feel it could be useful to go and work through the issue with a counsellor/therapist so that you can come to terms with what happened which will in turn ease the symptoms.

In the short term, things like correcting your posture when you find it hard to breathe can help, or even try singing! We breathe differently when we sing which can help to get the blood oxygenated, as well as taking your mind off thinking about your breathing, which is what can make it seem worse and cause the panic to build up.

You say you feel panicked when this happens-another thing that could help when you start to feel anxious is a burst of star jumps, running up and down the stairs or another physical activity that suits you. This may sound counter-productive, but if you think about it, panic stems from excessive anxious energy-it's like a washing machine, going round and round with nowhere to go until it builds up to the spin cycle. A quick burst of physical activity can help to 'use up' that energy which can help to stop it turning into a panic attack.

Another method is to breathe in through your nose for the count of seven then out through your mouth for the count of eleven. This helps get the oxygen/blood flowing round the body and focusing on counting rather than on breathing can be a good distraction while you ride out the energy.

These are just a few ideas which you may or may not find useful (it's hard for me to be more specific without having met you), but I feel it is important to keep trying until you find something that works for you. A counsellor/therapist can help you to find something more tailored to you as an individual.

Good luck.

Question: In marriages where one person gets PTSD that is not really responsive to treatment and is essentially an ongoing and never ending condition, what would you say the divorce rate is? This is my situation with my husband who is a retired police officer. We are in year 5 of quite severe symptoms and I am coming to realize that is it. It is never going to be different and I need to decide if I can accept this now that there is no hope of our old life returning.

Rebecca Ashton Says...:

Thank you for your question.

I'm afraid that there are no clear cut answers because everyone is different. A symptom or condition may not respond to one type of therapy, but it may respond to another; we can only discover what works for us as individuals by trying different things to see what is most effective for our personal situation.

I feel that PTSD can be treated and that things can be different for you both, but it depends on how much you want things to change and how much effort you are both prepared to put in to make this happen.

It sounds as though you might benefit from some couples counselling-you need not commit to anything right away, but it might be useful to go for an informal chat to see what your options are at this stage and where you would like to go from there.

I wish you both the best of luck

Question: I am terrified that of the idea of intruders and violent attacks. For no reason at all. When I try to go to sleep I flash on images all the time of someone sneaking in and hurting me in all sorts of horrible ways. These images won’t go away unless I get out of bed and check to make sure everything is OK. Sometimes I have to do this many times before I can fall asleep. I did not used to have this problem so what can I do to make it stop? Do you think I should get a dog or will that not work?

Rebecca Ashton Says...:

Thank you for your question. It sounds as though you are suffering from anxiety and/or a phobia. While owning a dog might be a comfort to you, I feel that getting one in this instance would be like a 'sticking plaster' and not address the underlying issues that are causing these feelings and behaviours.  I think that cognitive behavioural therapy could be helpful to you.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is a talking therapy that can help you to change the way you think and behave and it is particularly useful in tackling things like anxiety, phobias and post traumatic stress disorder to name but a few.

There are also plenty of videos and resources online about this kind of therapy. Good luck.

Question: How likely is it to get PTSD more than a year after a very traumatic experience, a fire, where a loved one died right beside you from smoke inhalation? I thought I was fine but now I have all of the symptoms of PTSD and I am really confused about why I am going through this now instead of back then or at the funeral.

Rebecca Ashton Says...:

Firstly, I'm so sorry to hear about what you have been through.

While uncommon, is possible to get delayed onset PTSD. It makes up about a quarter of diagnosed cases. One theory is that symptoms of PTSD may already be present, but not enough to meet the PTSD criteria. Later on, further life changes or traumatic events may exacerbate the existing symptoms which appears to be delayed onset PTSD.

It is also possible that the trauma may have caused your unconscious mind to repress events, feelings and emotions, or you may have consciously suppressed them-these are normal defence mechanisms, however, these defence mechanisms will not make the memories disappear completely, it is likely that you will still be influenced by them.

You say that you thought you were fine, which makes me wonder whether you worked through your feelings around this at the time? It is understandable that if you felt like you were managing, then you may not have seen the need to do so. If not, it might be that the reason for this sudden intrusion is that your unconscious mind is signalling that you are ready to explore things now.

I wish you the best of luck, please contact me if you have any further questions.