Needing help triggered while in hospital

Needing help triggered while in hospital
A

andrew76

Registrant
I have really been trying to understand something as I was in the hospital I had one male nurse that looked very stocky and almost looked close enough to my abuser.I happened to be asleep at one point during my hospitalization and this male nurse as I woke up happened to be standing right over me and I did not hear this nurse come into my hospital room,when I was younger my abuse used to take place while I was trying to sleep by my abuser,Back to the triggering thing as this nurse was standing over me I woke up very frightened and scared and I started yelling for him to leave me alone the nurse was in my room apparently to take my vitals.


The nurse was directly standing over me as I woke up and I felt as if I was right back in the same position of being abused,don't think anything happened while I was asleep by this nurse but woke up scared and very frightened woke up very startled.I am starting to have very clear flashbacks of the abuse now and sleep for me is becoming nonexistent thanks to this small incident.Scared to sleep now as the flashbacks just keep coming even though I am trying to stop the flashbacks.Need help talking about this so I can heal just another point I shoved deep down and have undealt with.Please any suggestions or help will be appreciated in how to deal and cope though this very rough period.
 
Share, share, share. It really helps to get it out, when You are able.

Also, do you have anybody there with you while you have the flashbacks? Sometimes it helps to have sombody you trust right there to grab onto.
 
No one person knows what I went through while in the hospital so in essence I have not brought in anyone to help when the flashbacks occur sometimes it is easier then having to explain the flashback to another person.
 
I agree with Dh, talking about it will help. Sometimes the mind needs to have the situation verbalized and out in the open to properly process it and become at peace with it. Peace, Andrew
 
Andrew - I was in hospital last year to have a camera inserted through my uretha into my kidneys.

This was obviously triggering for me - I mentioned to one of the staff (before they knocked me out) that I had been abused. *Don't know how I managed to say it, but I did.

They then fully explained what was involved in the procedure & treat me with the utmost courtesy.

One of the nurses actually said that I was very brave for actually mentioning my concerns & that I had been abused.

I am 48, but actually felt like a little kid getting praised for doing something good.

If you can find the strength to mention your concerns in this type of scenario, it is likely that they will be lessened.

Best wishes ...Rik
 
Man, this is a good thread. You said it, Rik, almost all of us feel like little kids when we're in the hospital. And you're right, talking about what happened to you as a youngster and why you may be somewhat apprehensive...read, "a lot", for me...should bring or get some sympathy for your/our plight.
Sorry you had such an uncomfortable time of it, Andrew76.
If you can tell yourself that you are not where you were then, when it happened, nor are you at the age when it happened, but home, in your own bed and you are recovering the strength and courage that you need to rest comfortably. There is a formula for this if you're interested; I'll include it in a PM.

David

edited for speling errors... .
 
Andrew:
Dealing with flashbacks is herendous. Awful as they are, it is part of the healing process.
I had my first flashbacks about 15 years ago, which precipitated a serious mental collapse. Had serious depression, constant panic attacks and off course insomnia since as you a lot of the abuse with my father happened in the night when he came in and woke me up.

What helped me most was a good therapist with experience dealing with survivors and a good psychiatrist to prescribe meds. Couldn't have gotten stablized with out the meds. I still take them.

Are you seeing anyone for either of the above? Stay strong and be well.

Stephan
 
Andrew
listen to Rick, and TELL the doctor you suffer from flashbacks. They are professionals who hear this stuff all the time, but they ain't mind readers!
And they will surely welcome your honesty rather than try to figure out why you're shouting at the nurse to get the hell out.

I also had the camera up the urethra earlier this year, with local anasthetic, and I made sure the doctors and nurses knew that I was an abuse survivor that would probably find the procedure difficult and triggering.
I know I received extra care and a full explanation, and respect, for telling them.

Dave
 
back at home now and healing is progressing however still having problems with sleeping just this one trigger really has me on edge and I am scared to sleep now.I am tired of the flashbacks and the memories of the abuse and then to flashback while in a hospital where I really did not have too many nurses around and family was not around either so it made it so much harder to cope with the flashback and the male nurse that I told off.I am trying to deal with this on my own as support is not there to really understand and as for doctors really having problems trusting them especially after several medical screw ups.
 
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