Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is VERY real.  A smell can even trigger a memory or a situation can take me back 20 years at times where I feel I'm reliving an abusive situation.    For the most part, I've learned to recognize those situations within a minute or so that trigger that emotion and capture the thought, turning it around to help me realize that I'm here today, away from that situation.  But I will say this...   There are times if your circumstances around you are so overwhelming (like they've been with me the past month) and you get things coming at you from ALL directions that it is VERY difficult not to break down.  Actually, that is what I've been experiencing very bad the past couple of weeks due to an abusive situation that occured at my place of employment with my boss and the Director of HR.  In turn, my doctor has kept me off work these past two weeks to get grounded in the present again, with the help of my counselor and the BEST counselor of all-- God.  :) 

This two weeks has proved to be beneficial though because I came to discover what it is that God wants me to do with my life-- He wants me to pursue ministry and so that is what I am going to do.  For the past 5 years, I've been constantly had question about what I am going to do, as I knew God was calling me and didn't think it would be to become a Pastor (or maybe I couldn't see myself as a Pastor) However, it's become clear to me during this two week hmmm recovery period for me.    I believe that I continue to relive these triggers because I haven't moved forward to the life God wants for me--  I am at peace with this choice and having God helped me get here FINALLY.  In turn, this job that has been abusive is still in my life, as I will return to work on Monday, meet with the Director on Tuesday and just do my job for a bit more-- until it becomes abusive again or they fire me.  Nobody has to put up with that...   However, once I'm out of this job, I'm dedicating my life to a month of two of writing my autobiography so that I can finish it completely-- hopefully, I can publish it soon afterwards.

I'm excited about having a concrete choice and knowing what it is that God wants me to do.  Now I just have to trust Him to take me to the resources I will need to pursue that, starting with two Pastors who I had become very close with over the last 5 years, as well as the new Pastor of the church I'm a member of.....  The time is now. :)  I feel it in my heart, mind, and soul. 

bd, getting back to your question of if it ever goes away-- my flesh would say that no, it does not.  Just as an alcoholic has to avoid alcohol in his/her recovery because of the triggers of addiction, a person who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress needs to learn how to adapt to circumstances in their life and also when necessary avoid what triggers those emotions.  I've come to learn that those "triggers" are there for a reason-- to warn me that what is happening in my life is not healthy or good for me.   In turn, I've learned that with the anxiety it creates and feels of being overwhelmed by my situation is ultimately not a situation that is part of Gods plan for me.  I'm learning to trust God completely and in turn, now speaking from my heart, my faith to answer your question I would have to say Yes, it does go away because NOTHING is impossible with God.  He is the ultimate healer and can help heal anything a person struggles with---

My prayers are with you bd-- hang in there.  Learn to capture each thought you have when an emotion is "triggered" from a memory.  Once you recognize these "triggers" are occuring, they are much more managable. 

Yes, it happens to me -- even images (flashes of an entire event pops thru your head - it's like you are there all over again)

I think it is just the way the mind deals with the traumas we lived through, like the mind is working it out somehow, i really don't know...  but yes it still happens to me too not only from when I was married over 6-10 yrs ago but sometimes I get a *flash* of something that happened to me as a kid.

PTSD is very real and can creep into your life at any time.  The kicker about this diagnosis is the memories can be latent and become triggered by a familiar smell, person, conversation even.  The mind and the body remember abusive situations.  Talk to a therapist that has good experience with PTSD, talking about how you felt at that moment, whether it was panic, fearful, anger, or all emotions at once can help you uncover what the triggers are.  Your HP can get you through some tough times as well.  I myself have gone through PTSD symptoms when dealing with my father.  I remove myself from the situation and try to meditate on why I got so worked up emotionally.  There is lots of support with in Alanon, PTSD groups, therapy, and above all God. 

Thank you for sharing

I have dealt with this, not knowing truly what was happening, only a sound or event that put/triggered me right back in that crazy place that I worked so hard to get out of.  Away from that serenity.  My counselor taught me a technique that helped me a great deal...because sometimes, thrust back into those moments, I would doubt myself and my reactions.  She taught me breathing techniques to calm me and then how to detach from the situation and to play it out in my mind like it was happening to someone else (like writing or reading a story) and from that point of view what would be the logical reaction or next move.  I would begin to minimize things, think it was me not him or I imagined the whole thing.... this has helped me... I know it is a form of detachment..but it works for me. And it has showed me, that generally, what I am thinking and feeling is right on!!!