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Living in PTSD Recovery and the Myth of a Cure

June 19, 2017 Tia Hollowood

Living in PTSD recovery isn't the same as being cured of the disease. It's important to understand the difference. Take a look at this.I lived with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for almost 22 years before I received treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. After five years of therapy, I healed enough to consider myself living in PTSD recovery. However, I still have symptoms that require maintenance, depression being the most notable. No magic formula exists to cure PTSD, but I have coping skills to manage my symptoms. Let's look at the reality of living in PTSD recovery, and the myth of being cured.

Living in PTSD Recovery Is Not Like Being Cured

To the average person, curing an illness means you eliminate it entirely. I once broke my thumb. After a trip to the doctor and a few weeks of medical care, it healed completely. Once cured, my broken thumb was gone. It wasn't suddenly going to break again on its own. With PTSD, there is no guarantee that once controlled, the symptoms will never return, even if months or years pass between occurrences.

By saying we live in PTSD recovery, we can acknowledge the reality that a mental illness relapse is possible, and the need to practice self-care consistently exists. For myself, this includes taking my medication, keeping my stress levels under control, and avoiding triggers.

I learned the importance of this mindset several years ago. I felt fully healed, so I stopped taking my medications. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, I encountered a particularly challenging trigger. As a result, I relapsed and experienced a dissociative fugue. I had not understood the long-term maintenance needed with PTSD.

Living in PTSD Recovery Symptom-Free

Symptom-free recovery is possible. It doesn't mean you are done taking care of yourself. Here are some tools that are my essentials for continued PTSD recovery:

My most debilitating PTSD symptoms have been in remission since my fugue. I continue to follow my recovery plan and seek help at the slightest concern of a relapse. While it has been a long stretch of symptom-free recovery, I know my PTSD still exists, and that's okay. I don't need a cure. I need to use my resources to stay on track.

I'd love to hear from you. Have you faced roadblocks to recovery? Do you have supports or tools you use to stay on track? Please let me know in the comments below.

APA Reference
Hollowood, T. (2017, June 19). Living in PTSD Recovery and the Myth of a Cure, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 28 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/traumaptsdblog/2017/06/ptsd-recovery-and-the-myth-of-a-cure



Author: Tia Hollowood

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Iris Black
July, 11 2017 at 12:45 am

More power to you, Tia. I am convinced that people like you coming out and sharing their personal experiences will help a lot of people who are going through the same thing. As you have rightly pointed out, relapse is one of the major worries associated with PTSD. It is for this reason that they must seek a qualified psychotherapist who can educate and guide them through this phase and give tips on handling issues such as relapse.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

July, 16 2017 at 3:50 pm

Thank you Iris!

Charlotte Howard
June, 19 2017 at 10:06 am

This is such a wonderful post..PTSD is such a hard thing for a lot of people and a lot of individuals that aren't affected by it or don't even know someone with it don't understand it or have a hard time adapting to it or being around it. Thank you so much for sharing this.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

June, 19 2017 at 12:43 pm

I agree, Charlotte. PTSD is so much more complicated than most people realize. I truly appreciate your comments.

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