Camping with PTSD

[BusaGuy]

I love camping but I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I am not a Military Veteran. Mine comes from a childhood illness. I am on medication, but I do have severe panick attacks and I get really nervous when traveling away from home. I even have them at home and on occasion end up at the emergency room getting pumped full of drugs. I try to not let this stop me from enjoying our family vacations. Like I said....I love camping but always have that fear while we are out.

I know I am not alone in this situation. I am just curious as to what do some of you other folks do to help and minimize the anxiety so that you can enjoy your traveling experiences.

Thank you in advance......... As this has really had an impact on my family.

[coolmom42]

BusaGuy---I sent you a PM.

[campingliz]

You've gotten some really great suggestions here. I will second the idea of finding a therapist who can work with you on EMDR. Once you learn and practice the technique, this is something that you can use to soothe yourself.

I suffer from PTSD as the result of a shocking auto accident where I was rear ended by a motorcycle about six years ago. My adrenaline and heart beat still speed up when I am near a motorcycle. You have my (and many other folks') sympathy, support and best wishes.

Happy camping!

[BusaGuy]

I really want to thank everyone for their advice and help. It means a lot and I am thankful to be a part of this community.

[wintersun]

I would think about the types of situations that trigger the anxiety attack and what works without drugs to deal with the situation. With my wife the first day of a trip she would experience similar problems but was OK after that for the duration of the trip.

The anxiety can be physically driven or mental (brain chemistry, etc.) and with the mental aspect it is helpful to know that you are having an attack and that the anxiety is not "real". I have taken meds that have this as a side effect and stepping outside the moment and realizing that this was happening helped a great deal. I would then take a walk until the effect was over. Others may find meditation more helpful in such a situation.

There are meds you can take but these all have side effects unlike meditation and are a more mechanical solution of the type favored by western medical practitioners.

Worth taking the time to find sources for information on dealing with anxiety attacks and how others have managed to deal with the problem as there are going to be differences between individuals.

With regard to camping suggest taking short 2-3 day trips initially and then progressing to taking longer trips.

Above all else do not take any firearms on your trips which would only compound the problem for you and for others.

[NCWriter]

BusaGuy wrote:


I am curious about the posts concerning a service dog. How do you get one? What do they do? Are they expensive? Can an existing pet be trained as one? That is kind of neat..........my family loves animals, and this may be an option.

Here's how the Americans with Disabilities Act reads:
"Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA."

So there are two options - service animal or emotional support animal. You could speak to local trainers and ask if they train either emotional support dogs, and/or PTSD task-oriented dogs, and consider whether you think one might provide you with some relief. I have heard of some trainers who will train a family pet for an emotional support role; experienced trainers probably would suggest you need to buy a puppy and train it from the start for two years to become a task-oriented PTSD dog. This option is expensive, however, since private training is not cheap.

Emotional support dogs MAY be able to fly with you in the cabin on some airlines - but not into public places like restaurants because they are not trained to perform tasks. Owners or staff of public establishments legally can ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.)

A highly-respected, non-profit assistance dog training organization called Canine Companions for Independence is working with the VA on a study for this very subject. Note that they are studying both "emotional support dogs" and dogs trained to perform five specific tasks to mitigate PTSD. See the link for a little more detail:

Canine Companions PTSD study for VA

I have a service dog, trained by Dogs for the Deaf, a wonderful nonprofit that many Good Sam Club chapters support with donations. RVing is a very dog-friendly way to travel for any kind of dog. I wish you the best of luck and hope to meet you at a campground in the future.

[Rollnhome]

Service dogs will not help. I think you may need a comfort/companion dog.

PTSD and dogs

Panic attacks from PTSD are most often brought on by reminders of your stressor(trauma). What was your trauma and what reminds you of it. Do you have nightmares, sleepless nights, flashbacks? Avoid certain movies or locations. Lashout at people for no apparent reason. What from your trauma scares you most?
Good luck the answer is out there. It is a difficult journey.

[BusaGuy]

Marty's story is an inspiring one. He must have been one heck of a person and a friend to the end.

I am curious about the posts concerning a service dog. How do you get one? What do they do? Are they expensive? Can an existing pet be trained as one? That is kind of neat..........my family loves animals, and this may be an option.

[RGar974417]

I served in the Navy during Vietnam.In the late 80's,I became involved in our local VFW.Eventually,I became an officer.I talked to and video taped many of our members.Most of them were WWII vets,but we had some Korea and Vietnam vets too.After 9/11, I was asked to gather some vets to talk at our local school. One of the guys I invited graduated 3 years ahead of me in high school.I knew who he was but never knew him personally until after that day we talked to the kids.Marty originally lived near Allentown,Pa. When he was about 5,his mother and a brother were killed in a car accident.Him,his father and remaining family moved to our area and grew up at the local children's home. Marty's dad had polio as a child but still worked at the home to support the family.Marty became a good athlete in high school and after he graduated he joined the Marines.He was sent to Nam. A few weeks later,he was wounded for the first time.He spent 6 weeks recuperating but was sent back into combat.Not long after,he was wounded again.This time,he lost one leg and his other leg was severely injured. He was eventually sent to the Philadelphia Naval Hospital,the closet facility to our area.He spent over a year in and out of the hospital recovering and learning to walk with an artificial leg.Marty could have spent the rest of his life drinking and feeling sorry for himself or feeling guilty for being an only survivor.You see everyone else in his squad died the day Marty was wounded.But he began working as an apprentice to a shoemaker for $1.00 an hour. 5 years later,he took over the business and ran it until he retired a few years a go.Even after he retired,he continued working part time.Every Memorial Day,Labor Day,Veterans Day and the 4th of July,Marty could be seen sprucing up the local Veterans Memorial and placing flags along the highway.Marty was a class act and was an inspiration to me and others that knew him.The thing I learned from Marty and some of the other combat vets I got to know is that you must face your fears head on.Marty admitted he had his problems like sometimes drinking too much,but he perservered.Two months ago,I got a phone call.Marty died of a massive heart attack.He was 67.I don't know what your situation was,but I hope Marty's story may inspire you to get out and do the things you want to do.Don't let the past hold you back.

[Rollnhome]

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[toedtoes]

Since you have identified the fear of being trapped, that should help. It sounds like you have a harder time when you don't have control. I'm similar with needing to be in control.

In that case, a MH might be a better option. Keep the campsite simple, don't use full hookups, etc. With a smaller MH, you can go and park and enjoy the outdoors, but you have that security that you can simply sit down in the driver seat and leave. Just knowing it's that easy can ease the anxiety.

Another thing to always make sure of is that you get enough sleep all the time. If you can't sleep in the RV, don't go overnight until you can. Even one night of no sleep can throw everything so far out of whack.

[BusaGuy]

K3WE wrote:
I love RVing and GENERALLY find it relaxing...



I'm worried that you don't know what your triggers are...again, it's generally relaxing, but there are some stresses. Most of us enjoy those stresses, but also have been known to crack open a beer at the end of a trip and after hooking everything up...

That is the odd thing. We just can not find the triggers. That would help a great deal.

[BusaGuy]

Crowe wrote:
but that may be due to the large number of people

Clue #1. You are most likely claustrophobic and you fear being trapped. Welcome to my world. We seem to share some issues. I always find an "escape route", no matter where I am. That helps some.

Yes.....I am afraid of being trapped. I always drive when we go places, even at home. That way I can leave if need be.

[K3WE]

I love RVing and GENERALLY find it relaxing...

That being said, there are some things that CAN be stressful. Driving a big vehicle, backing into a parking place, "fighting" to get things level, making sure you have enough water, battery, gray tank capacity.

I know little of PTSD, but I think I can say the issue isn't really THE stress but HOW YOU HANDLE the stress. I tend to enjoy backing into parking spots, but one recent dark night with a narrow site and dealing with stuff on the blind side of the trailer...it made for a challenge...another time was a cold night with a weak battery...and there have been some nights with storms about, where we wisely monitored the weather.

I'm worried that you don't know what your triggers are...again, it's generally relaxing, but there are some stresses. Most of us enjoy those stresses, but also have been known to crack open a beer at the end of a trip and after hooking everything up...

[rolling_rhoda]

Might it take some pressure off if you didn't stay overnight?
For example, we have a lake a few miles out of town with muni and county parks, both with camping. Many locals rent a spot for a few weeks, and will go out every night after work. They grill out , swim, socialize or ride bikes, and go home. The RV is their own cozy hangout, even though they only stay overnight on the weekends.