Generational PTSD -- It is confusing!

PTSD has a bothersome symptom, nightmares! Often, I do not even remember what the nightmare was but I awake in the night with some intense negative emotions. Most times, stress is the trigger factor for these bad nights.

The confusing part is that my feelings of fear, helplessness and panic, after I awake, are not even related to something that really happened to me. Many times, these feelings and nightmares are evoked by the fear and other emotions my parents felt years ago, during WWII. The horrendous stories they told me at a very young age have had this lasting impact upon me.

Sometimes, I find it hard to sleep while being disrupted by memories of very real or very intense memories of things that did not really even happen to me. But I awake feeling like they did happen to me. I inherited that from my parents as well. Worry. I worry, don’t sleep well and develop a short fuse whenever these episodes leave me vulnerable. I warned you, it is confusing.

Is this you?

Remember, if things get to be too much for you, and for medical advice/diagnosis ALWAYS consult a professional.