Questionnaire for PTSD Criterion A Determining Trauma

Questionnaire for PTSD Criterion A Determining Trauma

THERAPY ASSIGNMENT- I Can’t Get Over It – Wednesday, September 06, 2006-6:16PM EST

Emotional Inventory

• Anxiety level beginning- 3 I feel more dread and fear than anxiety. There is also a touch of excitement that maybe just maybe this will be of some type of help.

Anxiety level end- 5 I’m rocking a bit, numbed out a little but in general I’m okay.

• Safety Status beginning- 100% Safe

Safety Status end- 100% Safe

**see feelings list**

Instructions: Describe the event or events that happened to you and your feelings during and after the event. Be as specific and detailed as you can.

Of twelve criteria listed I see four that apply to me. (Long sigh) I dread this book but I want so badly to not live like this anymore so I’m going to go for it. Thank goodness I see you tomorrow. I only read this book the day before therapy because I know it’s going to get heavy. So, here goes nothing. Here are the things I see that apply to me.

Have you ever lived in a refugee or concentration camp or been tortured?

Yes. Tortured. The mother put needles in the roof of my mouth. We stood with our arms extended holding encyclopedias in each palm that faced up. Dropping them was not an option.

Were you ever sexually or physically assaulted, either by a stranger, a group of strangers, a family member, or anyone else?

Yes, family members. The main abuser is the mother followed by the uncle, the grandmother, the only male cousin in the family, and the mother’s 3 sisters. The Aunt S* was the cruelest of them with Aunt P second and Aunt C in third place as far as cruelty to me. I was not sexually abused by the aunts or the grandmother. Physical and sexual assault was by the mother, uncle and male cousin. I had a knife held to my throat by the mother on several occasions, held out of a 6 story window once, had a gun held to my head by the uncle. The uncle shot me in the foot when I was 9 years old.

As a child, were you physically maltreated with excessive beatings or spankings? Were a parent’s or caretakers disciplinary measures sadistic?

For example, were you ever forced to eat worms or insects, to stand nude in the cold or in front of others, or to injure a pet, sibling, or another person? Were you ever confined to a cage, a closet, or tied up? Were you deprived of adequate nutrition and medical care you needed?

Dowel rods were the mother’s favorite weapon. She used them on our hands and the bottoms of our feet. She beat our lips with a wide tooth comb until they were swollen and bloody. We had our hands tied behind our back in bed with her. She starved us quite often or made us work like dogs in order to get food. What we ate depended on how well she thought we did.

The medical part is just the opposite of neglect. She took us to the doctor often. She told me I would be dead by the age of 20 because I would die from multiple sclerosis. If I lived I’d be blind by the age of 30 because I supposedly had a lazy eye and I looked directly into an eclipse with that lazy eye. She said I had hypoglycemia and later I supposedly developed diabetes and other illnesses. She took us to the doctor but they couldn’t find anything wrong with us so she put us on a regimen of vitamins and we were miraculously cured after awhile. My only illness back then was a disease that answered to the name Mama.

Have you ever been kidnapped, abducted, raped, burglarized, robbed or mugged?

Yes. In early 2005 I was assaulted in my apartment. Late in 2005 I moved to my new place here with Barney Fife. Some asshole broke into my apartment back in 1999 or 2000 or somewhere around in there but I beat his ass and he passed out on the front porch. The police came and took him away. I testified at his trial and he got a year in jail with a year where he couldn’t come within 500 feet of me. I didn’t know the man. I laugh at that story but it wasn’t funny at the time because he knew I was home and he knew I was on the phone with the police yet he still kicked the door in and walked into my bedroom. When he walked in we had a short introduction and then his head met Mr. Fire Extinguisher, twice. It is my assertion that he chose the wrong damn house!

**see feelings list**