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Absolutely. I've gone through periods where simply opening my laptop would almost invariably result in what I can only describe as a low-grade panic attack. If

Absolutely. I've gone through periods where simply opening my laptop would almost invariably result in what I can only describe as a low-grade panic attack. If that's not PTSD, I don't know what is. I've been taking a break for most of the last 6 months, and am only just starting to get back to 'normal'. I'm not at all convinced that I'll ever fully get back to where I was pre-burnout, but at least I can check my email again without provoking a fight or flight response. If you have the financial resources to do so, I strongly recommend you take some time off - be away from all technology and spend time in nature if at all possible. Focus on sleeping well, eating well, and exercise. Trying to power through what you're feeling might seem heroic, but you could end up doing lasting damage to yourself.

eurasiantiger 6y ago
That sounds like an acute stress reaction brought about by chronic stress. The diagnostic criteria of PTSD include a latency of several months or years from the traumatic event(s) and the first appearance of symptoms. The symptoms of PTSD generally include hypervigilance (checking your six all the time), restlessness, sense of impending doom, rumination (fixation of thoughts on the traumatic events and retributive fantasies), nightmares, feeling more tired after sleeping than before, loss of appetite despite being hungry, lack of concentration, anxiety and depression.
- jonathanleane 6y ago
  I don't want to put words in the OP's mouth, but my interpretation of 'PTSD' in this context was in the vernacular not the clinical sense. I fully accept that whatever work related trauma I've been through probably pales into insignificance compared to victims of abuse, violence, etc., and don't mean any disrespect. Having said that, literally every single symptom you listed in your second paragraph resonates with me.

eurasiantiger 6y ago

That sounds like an acute stress reaction brought about by chronic stress. The diagnostic criteria of PTSD include a latency of several months or years from the traumatic event(s) and the first appearance of symptoms. The symptoms of PTSD generally include hypervigilance (checking your six all the time), restlessness, sense of impending doom, rumination (fixation of thoughts on the traumatic events and retributive fantasies), nightmares, feeling more tired after sleeping than before, loss of appetite despite being hungry, lack of concentration, anxiety and depression.

jonathanleane 6y ago
I don't want to put words in the OP's mouth, but my interpretation of 'PTSD' in this context was in the vernacular not the clinical sense. I fully accept that whatever work related trauma I've been through probably pales into insignificance compared to victims of abuse, violence, etc., and don't mean any disrespect. Having said that, literally every single symptom you listed in your second paragraph resonates with me.