You used multiple sources that excluded certain types of trauma from PTSD from other lists, so I wouldn’t be so close minded about how PTSD can manifest. One of your lists limits PTSD to war, terrorism, and violence, while another includes emotional abuse and sexual abuse.
One of your quotes said “witnessing or experiencing“, so even if I did not witness the cheating I still experienced it. I am someone who holds sex as sacred, and this felt similar to sexual abuse (which, yes, I have been directly sexually abused before as well).
I would prefer it if people who replied would address the actual issue here that I’m talking about, the dilemma that I’m in, and not try to dismantle a diagnosis that isn’t so relevant to my dilemma (my ex and I still love each other but have partners) by the end of my story.
Dear Anita,
I have seen multiple therapists who specialise with infidelity and couples as well, and I respectfully think it’s not fair for you to tell me that it’s not what I’m experiencing. And diagnosis aside, the result was panic attacks and overwhelming thoughts that I am dying, as a result of the cheating. Those are the feelings my therapists were addressing, along with depression and anxiety, which have the same treatment plans as people who have been abused in the past that match your idea of PTSD. It was never a conversation of gauging and comparing trauma, which is extremely subjective.
You seem to be focusing on PTSD as a result of a physical traumatic response, where someone’s physical well-being was threatened. Emotional trauma absolutely can morph someone’s thoughts to the point where they feel as if they are physically unsafe as well, and I think that is something you should consider, as it was my case
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 