Does PTSD cause drug addiction and sexual disorders?

I have had a friend for 6 years who has PTSD. He is in therapy now, Thank God, for about 3 years. I am learning more about him and his actions since I've come back from 14 months in Texas with my family and I don't know how to deal with some of it. The anger and the screaming are better, but he would always come in late, had a friend he had to be "designated driver" for. Fortunately that friend got married, which helped. Twice before I went back to Texas he didn't come home at all. Once said he was "kidnapped" I've only been back for 6 weeks and we were getting along great, we even talked about it a few days before he disappeared again, last Monday. When he finally called me at work Tuesday evening since I was so mad at him, emotionally violated, he wouldn't tell me where he'd been till I calmed down. Don't blame him cause it was fairly shocking for me, to say the least. He said he goes to this place where you can watch videos in a little room. Imagine the rest. And he denies his use of meth, but I find and 'see' the signs. And I know he doesn't tell his therapist the whole truth of his problems. He's lost me now, I am monogomous and feel like that was cheating. But I still care how he is and that he gets well before it's too late. How!? Is this all part of PTSD? God keeps me well, but this isn't easy. Thanks for any and all input.

Caith,

Welcome to the forums. I see from your other post that you're already frustrated and are angry it took someone this long to post. As you may have noticed these forums don't yet have alot of active posters.

As for your questions, I don't know if this is all part of your friend's PTSD. The question is a very difficult one because each person can have a different "version" of the illness. Your friend does obviously need help for his actions and if all his absences are because of these things he needs help. He may be a sexual addict on top of his PTSD.

Some of his lateness and absences may be due to the nightmares and flashbacks the disorder is famous for. As a sufferer of PTSD myself I know that the day after large "events" of either flashbacks or nightmares I am so completely exhausted that it is often hard to even get out of bed. I lost my previous career because of this.

The fact that he was honest with you is a huge step in the right direction. Please try to remember that whatever his urges he tried to act on them in the way least harmful to you and your relationship.

That said, he definitely needs to discuss this with his therapist and see if he can correct the problem. Good luck to you and your friend.

You don't know how I appreciate your answer. The people who are just as much, maybe even more, affected by this are those people who love the PTSD sufferers. I know that because all three of my children have it too. From their father. It causes a lot of pain, but I've learned with my kids the only thing I can do is talk to them if they need me and back off otherwise, they're adults. Had to go a little further with my second daughter last year when I went back to Texas tho'. She had to be hospitalized.
My friend and I are at this point living as room mates. I will be moving when I make enough money to find a place.
Yes, I know it took a lot of courage to tell me the truth after 6 years, and I admire him for that. But I don't think he'll tell his therapist. I know he 'hasn't' told her because he told me the only other person who knew this was his 'source' for drugs, and that he'd also slept with her.
Everything he told me, I already 'knew'. God, I'm talkin' too much. Just Thank You Sean My son and my oldest daughter aren't actively seeking help. My son was also in the Army for 6 years.

Dear Caith,

I'm so sorry that you sound so hurt and angry that no one has replied to your post.

Sounds like you need a lesson in patience. And if you treat this person you are referring to the same way, I am not surprised at his behavior. By the way, forgive me for sounding brash.

About your post. As a sufferer from ptsd i've found that there are many ways of dealing with the problem. Some people tend to get therapy and some people deal with the problem via substance abuse.

Sounds to me like your friend needs lots of therapy and lots of understanding verses an impatient friend. The reason I say this is because of my experience with ptsd I personally avoid people of this nature. It's annoying and he will talk about his problems when he is ready. He may not want to talk to you about it because not too many people understand the problem unless they've experienced it first hand.

I witnessed a violent death of a very close family member and when people try and talk to me, I don't want anything to do with them. I want to talk about it when I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. And no one is going to change that. Especially one who is badgering me to talk.

I apologize in advance if I hurt your feelings. I just know what it is like to be in such a terrible state of mind and would very much like to help you.

Please post an update about your friend and his progress. I would be interested in reading it.

Thanks again,

Penfort

It may have a few days ago, but since then I've been working on myself, which is what we all should do isn't it? The reason I'm in these forums in the first place is to try to understand. And I appreciate your answer and your true feelings coming from the other side.
The update is that he's been coming home every night except last night with dilated eyes and working really hard to bait me into a fight. Which used to be easy because he says things that are totally off the wall and hurtful. The thing is now I can finally realize that the person he's raging at isn't really me, even tho' I'm the one who is being called the names and told how no good I am.
It's not me. And I hurt for him to feel so badly about himself. I've tried to tell him before that what he was taught to do as the child he was, 19 in Viet Nam, went against his heart, and that's why it hurt it so much, but it doesn't mean he 'is' military. He wouldn't get help for 53 years. Been in therapy now for 3. I'm proud to say I'm the one who forced that step.
The other symptoms are what I'm fighting against. Drug use does not 'help' the situation, it compounds it. He 'knows' that, yet he does it anyway. And I was hurt and angry because he lied to me about it. His friends were, he would talk about them, but 'he' wasn't.
Through lots of prayer and research I've been able to be calm in the storm and the last two weeks have been full of accusations and anger and frustration, only after the first few days, it hasn't been mine.
I think last night I was finally able to convince him I am 'not' angry and judging him. Thank God. Now we can be friends again. I hope.
Thank you Penfort. I understand. And no, my feelings are not hurt, and I'm sorry I hurt yours. And his. He knows that now.

It is not too uncommon for a person suffering PTSD to use a substance to help cope with the very unpleasant flashbacks and nightmares. There is a lot more to PTSD than just these symptoms, though.

A person with the disorder will very often withdraw emotionally/socially from family/loved ones. You may be experiencing this firsthand. It is sometimes called 'emotional numbing' by therapists.

And it is not uncommon for sufferers to develop severe difficulties in coping with the daily stressors that many people cope with effectively on a regular basis and take for granted.

Over the last dozen years, I've had two different girlfriends who had PTSD. The most recent one has taken narcotic pain killers for several years because she has Degenerative Disc Disease, but in the last year or two (maybe longer), her use grew into abuse, and when the prescribed quantities were not enough, she began buying illicitly. By her own admission, this pattern developed, largely, out of a desire/attempt to deaden the pain associated with the trauma she has experienced and which still reaches forward from the past on a daily basis to make her life hell: In her case, the loss of her daughter in a fatal car crash.

But you should not automatically attribute his substance abuse, if there is any, to the PTSD, as it might be a separate problem. Only a competent, highly trained professional can tease out the subtleties of the interrelationships among symptoms and give you a fairly clear clinical picture of what is going on.

It is very important, if you want to be supportive of him, that you be patient. This may or may not be possible from within a relationship with him. You have to safeguard your own mental health first and foremost. What good can you do him if you become depressed and anxious because of his behaviors? So, always take care of yourself first, so that you'll have the strength and resources to support others. I got the impression you two are just friends, but even that might be too close for you. It just depends, and only you can decide.

Refreshing old threads which pertain to behavioral aspects of ptsd seems like a good idea. theres a lot more to it than flashbacks. Hopefully the forum will become enlightening rather than glorifyng "cool" buzzwords

What buzzwords?
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Onebravegirl wrote:What buzzwords?
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The point being that popularization of terms like "Flashback" "trigger" "blackout" "trauma" etc has created a 'glee club' effect where people seem like they're competing to see if they can 'out victim' the baseline and be included among the 'woe is me' crowd.
I mean c'mon. things like: "can a breakup cause PTSD?.." or "I was discriminated by racists.. can I have ptsd?".. and so on are examples of the "life sucks" reality being overblown by people who had something sh!tty happen, and they want to make their crybaby reaction look like a cool disorder like PTSD ... Or other people who are having a pschotic episode want to explain it as a flashback.... because PTSD is cooler than psychosis.

The unpleasant truth is that Post Trauma Stress DIsorder Is a disorder. This means that it manifests in behavioral ways that seem "subtle" to the sufferer... This unhealthy fixation on "flashbacks" is unhealthy and therefore counterproductive.

Yeah, I get what you mean. Some people feel like it is cool to have a disorder. I have met plenty.
Some want it to make them feel validated I guess. Truth is, it isnt cool or fun, it is painful.
The truth is though the only purpose for a Dx is for Doc to be able to find the most effective treatment.
It seems to be a stage for many who obtain a Dx where they have to let go of the label and see that they are not just their Dx.
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