startle response - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Message Board

birdgirl214 · 04-28-2006, 04:43 PM

I was wondering if anyone out there who has ptsd actually reads this stuff other than me, because i have had it for almost 8 years and that hightend startle response thing wont go away. It is really getting pretty annoying and embarasing. Everytime someone walks up behind me I almost jump through the roof, and I try to joke about it that I'm just a little jumpy, but come on, I look silly! It has been like this for at least 7 of the past 8 years, and I see and shrink and all, and feel alot better today than I used to, but does this hightened startle response thing ever go away or what? I would like to behave like a normal person and not look like some kind of wierdo who jumps at the slightest noise. So if there is anyone else out there who has had that for a long time and got rid of it, I would like to hear from you.
Thanks

dave_81 · 05-06-2006, 10:31 AM

Hi --

Officially I have psychotic depression and depersonalisation, not PTSD -- but I suspect that I do have PTSD. Anyway, despite not officially having PTSD, I do have a heightened startle response, which I've had for ages. I almost jump out of my skin every time the phone rings! Every time I get a text message and my mobile beeps my heart seems to skip a couple of beats! It's so bloody annoying.

So your definitely not alone. Hope this helps.

Best,

dave_81

StephanieAnne · 05-06-2006, 07:07 PM

Hi birdgirl

I read these posts all the time, I am a PTSD survivor of about 40 years, and I can relate to just about everyone on this board.

I totally understand the startle response, had it for like ever, anything was enough to make me jump, noises, yelling, you name it. It's like I was always waiting for the shoe to drop and someone was going to find me out

Eventually I realized that those startle responses were my way of feeling something. PTSD people usually don't respond like "normal" people, we don't feel things, we have emotion like crying, but, to experience true feelings, that is a little hard because, we have had to deny feelings because of what ever tragic event happend to us. Once I was able to face my tragic event and deal with it, out popped real feelings. Those replaced the scared feelings which is what fueled my startled responses. Therapy is such an amazing experience, it is hard work, but you get such a wonderful payoff.

How long have you been in therapy? I am glad to read that you are happier than you were, because that is all that matters. If I can become a "normal" person

so can you, so don't give up on you

3catgirl · 05-21-2006, 03:14 PM

I, too, have a pronounced startle response, which is very embarrassing at times. It's weird -- I've been through years of therapy and have mostly worked through the issues that caused me so many problems. Still, when I'm heavily engrossed in something and someone surprises me, I have a sharp intake of breath and a very significant startle response. I kind of joke about it a lot, but inside I'm embarrassed and a little sad. Mostly, though, I have come to grips with the fact that this is who I am.

Sometimes, instead of getting upset about it or angry at myself for being so very sensitive, I reframe the situation. I've decided that my body is simply doing the best it can to watch out for me. My body's startle response is a little over the top, but it dissipates quickly and I can then get back to normal. I've tried this reframing technique a lot, and sometimes it's more successful than others. Still, I figure I'll be a happier person if I can appreciate and be thankful for how my body protects me, instead of being angry and resentful about something that (for now, anyway) I can't change.

I hope this helps.

trg247 · 05-26-2006, 08:42 PM

I have had a high startle response since I was a kid. You would think twenty years later it would calm down a bit

take care
trg247