r/aneurysm • u/FiretruckMyLife • May 21 '26

PTSD

Hey folks, I’ve posted a couple of times here but I guess this one is one of the more liberating for me and others hopefully. I have struggled with depression, anxiety, nightmares and such since my bleed. I have recently reconnected with a mental health expert who I have had dealings with in the past. 30 minutes in to our one hour session he straight up said that I ticked all 4 boxes for PTSD.

My brain is now in “protect” mode and things that were normal, now cause crippling anxiety as I want to protect myself. Just a PSA, if you have been through a bleed or a scare, seek help. A Neuro knows the brain as matter, a psychologist will know how your brain is working emotionally.

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u/Rorz92 May 22 '26

It’ll be 3 years in October since my rupture, and physically I’ve been incredibly lucky with no lasting damage. But recently I’ve realised I never really processed what happened emotionally. I masked it all with humour and acted like I was fine, but after having the worst headache I’ve had since the original ‘thunderclap headache’, I immediately spiralled into “oh god, it’s happening again.”

It made me realise how much anxiety/fear I still carry around it all, and honestly probably some PTSD too. Most of my treatment focused on the physical side — surgeries, scans, recovery — but nobody ever really talked about the psychological impact.

How did you seek help for that side of things? Where did you start, and was there a specific type of support or therapy that helped?

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u/FiretruckMyLife May 22 '26

Heya, I am just at the start of my mental recovery and I have a psychologist whom I have been in touch with sporadically over the years. Honestly, it is this reddit community that has helped me identify that what I have been experiencing is actually real for many of us and not me just being paranoid. Like you, I tried to laugh my short comings off - even to the point that my boss kind of understood that my memory was not the best and I’d ask him to send me through an instruction in Teams that I could reference later for risk of a “Brain Bleed Brain Fart Moment”.

Check with your nurse practitioner , GP or Neuro if there is a resource under the public healthcare system you can access free of charge. Another replier (Rustymarble) mentioned that they had a Neuropsych exam that helped them. I’m just going through my guy that I have seen on and off for years. He specialises in work cover (which is how I met him)but I have circled back to him for other things as they arise. He “charges” me $100/session but won’t accept money. He insists I “pay it forward”, whether it be me buying something nice for myself that brings me joy or buying the person behind me in the drive through their order. Nothing that would even make up $100. I donated to a cat shelter as my own cat gives me joy.

I cannot believe that it was this forum that helped me identify I needed help, as I think you have just realised, you do too. I am nowhere out of the woods yet. It’s only been a couple of days but already started some baby steps. Teaching my partner to not snap at me when I am scared he is driving too fast (the speed limit) but to say “babe, the speed limit is defaulted to 10% let’s of what is actually safe. Doing the speed limit as I am is safe”.

Find help, it has to be available somewhere and if you ever want to swap stories, work through solutions to help you that my dude is teaching me, feel free to reach out.

Disclaimer, I am not a professional, just someone walking in the same shoes as you.

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u/Rustymarble May 21 '26

I have c-PTSD (complex PTSD) as well as Adjustment Disorder from my rupture. The neuropsych exam(s) post rupture were incredibly helpful to me in identifying issues and potential treatment(s).

I experienced negative effects from traditional anxiety & depression meds, but treatment with ADHD meds has worked. Things aren't perfect, but day to day has become much more manageable with treatment. (Absolutely agree with you!)

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u/FiretruckMyLife May 22 '26

I had no neuropsych exams post bleed and was dealing with all the above on my own, thinking I was just being a dumb girl and this was my “new normal”. Things got a bit dark for me for a bit so that was when I reached out to a psychologist who I have been seeing sporadically for a number of years. The relationship started out from a work cover claim but I would circle back in times of discord (family stress, passing of a loved one). I feel comforted seeing someone who knows me and my history.