Flashbacks

Does anyone else have these? Flashbacks accompanied by anxiety? I definitely believe I have PTSD and have for quite some time. I thought with time it would get better, but I still have a lot of flashbacks. Sometimes more than others, but every day I have at least one. I have been having them at work a lot lately. I work in a hospital so I guess it's because I am in the same environment that I was in the hospital. I don't take care of those kinds of patients so sometimes it seems like an unusual time or situation to trigger them. I was just curious if this was still just a normal part of grieving.


(PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,overwhelming the individual's ability to cope. As an effect of psychological trauma, PTSD is less frequent and more enduring than the more commonly seen acute stress response. Diagnostic symptoms for PTSD include re-experiencing the original trauma(s) through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal—such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger, and hypervigilence. Formal diagnostic criteria (both DSM-IV-TRand ICD-10) require that the symptoms last more than one month and cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. ^{Thanks to good old wiki for this info.}


I don't have nightmares or difficulty sleeping. Mostly just anxiety with flashbacks or exposure to certain situations and avoidance of certain stimuli associated with the trauma. I wouldn't say I have "significant impairment" when this occurs, no one knows that I am feeling this way when it happens although I do feel like I "space out" a bit sometimes. There are definitely many times that I would like to take a xanax, but almost always talk myself out of it (I am working, driving with Brennan in the car, getting ready for bed so I will just sleep it off). I have always just chalked it up to grief and I am still grieving no doubt, but now that it has been 2 years I am wondering if I need to take another step to try to resolve this aspect. I don't really want to just take medication. I am researching some therapies out there that can help, but I am just wondering if this is a normal part of this process and if I just need to give it more time. Thank you in advance for your thoughts:)