realistic ptsd in whump from someone who has (undiagnosed) ptsd
tw: flashbacks, mention of sh, whumpee in denial
whumpee who can trigger a flashback in themselves just by thinking about it, sometimes entirely unprompted
after that happens whumpee feels like this canât be a flashback and they canât be triggered bc there was nothing that triggered it they just thought about it
whumpeeâs flashbacks and the subsequent panic attacks arenât loud and noticeable, to the outside perspective it looks like their just staring off and breathing really slowly
flashbacks arenât as much hallucinating that youâre back in the whump as it is just feeling the sensations you felt
like literally ANY mention of it makes whumpee freeze up, this works especially well if they arenât dealing with their whump and are instead like. ignoring it and hoping it miraculously goes away
whumpee whoâs body physically reacts to it whenever they try to talk about it, breaking out in goosebumps and shivers
whumpee whoâs ptsd makes it virtually impossible for them to make progress in recovery
whumpee who has a lot of trouble grounding themselves out of their flashbacks and asking for help during their flashback bc it doesnât look like youâd expect a flashback to look, they arenât crying curled up in a ball or anything, but they canât think or breathe
maybe whumpee ends up taking up sh to ground, digging their fingers into their palms or scratching at their arm or biting at the inside of their cheek
whumpee whoâs caretaker doesnât even realize theyâre having flashbacks or trauma responses because they donât look how they expect them to
somwtimes things trigger them or make them anxious that wouldnât have before and it doesnât actually necessarily put them back into the whump but instead just make them deeply uncomfortable. for ex if your whumpee was kept in a cage now they are claustrophobic about hugs. but it doesnât necessarily remind them distinctly of the whump, like they arenât like âoh Iâm claustrophobic because I was kept in a cageâ itâs more âwhy is this freaking me out?? Iâve never been claustrophobic beforeâ and itâs not obvious itâs happening bc of the whump
whumpee in denial that anything is actually happening to them. it canât be ptsd. why not? it cant
