Relaspe or just Scaring Yourself?

Question

8 years ago, I started to have extreme intrusive thoughts that bother and haunted me for 1.5 years. During that time, my mind and thinking was so messed up that I can practically imagine and doubt myself on anything. After that period, for some unknown reason, I was able to experience peace and calm for the next 5 years without worrying too much about the thoughts that haunted me before. During that time, I still have bad thoughts but I felt a sense of control over them and did not allow myself to be dominated by them. However, since 2005, I started to have flashbacks of the experience of 8 years ago. It got gradually worse this year since I kind of "identified"/"associated" with those flashbacks and thoughts. Now, does having those flashback thoughts mean I am going through the same ordeal again (ie. I am reliving the terrible experience) or am I simply having a flashback attack but I have generally already recovered and is different from the first time?

Answer 1

You really need to seek out a more reliable source than Yahoo Answers to help you answer this question. Did you ever receive any treatment when you were having difficulties eight years ago? If so, you should try and find the person who provided the treatment and see if they can help you again. However, you say that the problems got better for "some unknown reason" which makes it sound like you didn't get any treatment. Have you experienced increased stress in your life over the last year or so? Sometimes difficulties wax and wane with stress. At any rate, I don't think you should wait to see if this is some kind of "relapse." I think you should try and get some help now, while you are still thinking clearly about the situation. There are good treatments for the kind of experiences you are having. People can be taught to cope with intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. Don't wait to see if it's just going to go away. Do something about it now. The only real way to answer your question is to spend some time with a mental health professional, who can ask the appropriate questions and give you a proper diagnosis for what you've been experiencing.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. All the best.