u/Current-Juice8282

I live with a complex, overlapping picture — chronic pain and hypermobility (fibromyalgia/HSD spectrum), CPTSD from childhood, and long-unaddressed ADHD traits that had been masked or misattributed to anxiety for most of my life. Every previous provider treated these in isolation. Medication trials failed repeatedly (SSRIs, SNRIs, TCAs) with no one stepping back to ask why.

The collapse that started it:
Last year I lost a close family member (my sister-in-law) suddenly and unexpectedly. That grief didn’t stay contained — it triggered old childhood trauma, and I started having flashbacks and re-experiencing episodes on top of the grief itself. My body and mind essentially stopped functioning. I went from managing a full-time job to being unable to sustain basic daily function, eventually needing extended medical leave. Physical symptoms piled on — joint pain, vestibular issues, extreme fatigue — and no one around me, including some earlier providers, could explain why one loss had derailed everything so completely, or why recovery wasn’t linear.
It wasn’t until I started working with her that I understood the fuller picture: long-standing, unrecognised ADHD traits had been quietly increasing my baseline load for years — masking effort, sensory overwhelm, executive dysfunction — and grief plus trauma re-activation was the tipping point that exposed it. The overwhelm wasn’t “just grief” or “just anxiety” — it was years of unacknowledged ADHD-driven strain finally hitting a breaking point, compounding the trauma response and making recovery far harder than it should have been. Having that explained clearly, with evidence behind it, changed how I understood my entire collapse — not as a personal failure to cope, but as a specific, nameable pattern that finally made sense.

What was different with her:
• She didn’t rely on a single intake form. She used a structured, validated ADHD interview (DIVA-5) rather than a quick checklist — going through childhood and adult symptoms systematically, across multiple life domains, before reaching any conclusion.
• She actively looked for what didn’t fit as hard as what did — flagging anxiety, OCD-spectrum traits, and trauma as overlapping contributors rather than lumping everything under one label. She was explicit about what was confirmed, what was preliminary, and what needed more time before being called a diagnosis.
• She explained the why behind everything — why a medication had failed before, why a new one was being tried at a low starting dose, why certain symptoms were anxiety-driven versus ADHD-driven versus pain-driven. For the first time, my symptoms made sense as a connected picture instead of a list of unrelated complaints.
• Medication changes were conservative and closely reasoned — low starting doses, slow titration, clear rationale tied to my history of failed trials, and honest acknowledgment of what’s still being adjusted rather than overpromising.
• She gave real time in session — often going well beyond the standard slot — specifically to build safety before going into harder material. That mattered enormously with a trauma history.
• Beyond medication, she thought about the whole picture: physiotherapy suited to hypermobility, sleep architecture, structured routines for executive dysfunction, and even flagged relational/couples work given how my symptoms affect my marriage.
• She has skills of a psychoanalyst, which showed in how she picked up behavioural and relational patterns I hadn’t been able to name myself, and helped me actually work through them rather than just manage symptoms.
Result: Noticeable improvement within a short window — not because of one magic medication, but because the whole formulation finally made sense and the plan was built around me, not a template.
Her details, for anyone in India searching for someone similar:
• Dr. Vaidehee Lakhani Chaudhary, MBBS, MD Psychiatry (Reg. No. MD 39950)
• Practice: Nirvana MindCare
• Location: Doc Thakur Clinic, 5th Floor, Bodycare Complex, Vadaj, Ahmedabad
• Offers online consultations pan-India (Zoom)
• Website: nirvanamindcare.com
• Contact: connect@nirvanamindcare.com / +91 7096106460

Two children in a tier-3 city in Madhya Pradesh lost their mother suddenly in February 2025 to a brain stroke. They live with their father and paternal grandparents. I am their aunt based outside India, visiting twice or more a year and coordinating their support remotely. Both children are doing well overall- improving socially, academically, emotionally. The psychological piece is what hasn’t been addressed and that’s what I’m here for.

Girl 5: A sweet, sensitive girl with pre-existing sensory intolerances — clothing textures, food boundaries — and emotional dysregulation that shows up as shutdowns, tantrums, and intense need for control. She lost her mother at 4, was still breastfeeding at the time at times of dysregulation. She attaches deeply to female caregivers and what she fundamentally needs is one consistent woman who is patient, warm, and hers. Looking for someone who will speak with her directly in Hindi, observe her briefly, and coach the caregivers around her with simple daily guidance.

Boy, 11: A sweet, talkative boy who has always needed someone to truly listen to him. He asks questions, shares everything, and processes the world through conversation. He lost his mother at 10, had some therapy before his mother passed away and it continued briefly around that time but shut down completely on the topic afterwards and stopped engaging. He is now approaching teenage years and needs a patient, informed presence that can guide him appropriately through that transition- someone who listens first and guides second.

Looking for a psychologist who is Hindi speaking, experienced in childhood grief and trauma, willing to work with both children directly on video and coach caregivers practically. Personal recommendations strongly preferred over directory.

Two children in a tier-3 city in Madhya Pradesh lost their mother suddenly in February 2025 to a brain stroke. They live with their father and paternal grandparents. I am their aunt based outside India, visiting twice or more a year and coordinating their support remotely. Both children are doing well overall- improving socially, academically, emotionally. The psychological piece is what hasn’t been addressed and that’s what I’m here for.

Girl 5: A sweet, sensitive girl with pre-existing sensory intolerances — clothing textures, food boundaries — and emotional dysregulation that shows up as shutdowns, tantrums, and intense need for control. She lost her mother at 4, was still breastfeeding at the time at times of dysregulation. She attaches deeply to female caregivers and what she fundamentally needs is one consistent woman who is patient, warm, and hers. Looking for someone who will speak with her directly in Hindi, observe her briefly, and coach the caregivers around her with simple daily guidance.

Boy, 11: A sweet, talkative boy who has always needed someone to truly listen to him. He asks questions, shares everything, and processes the world through conversation. He lost his mother at 10, had some therapy before his mother passed away and it continued briefly around that time but shut down completely on the topic afterwards and stopped engaging. He is now approaching teenage years and needs a patient, informed presence that can guide him appropriately through that transition- someone who listens first and guides second.

Looking for a psychologist who is Hindi speaking, experienced in childhood grief and trauma, willing to work with both children directly on video and coach caregivers practically. Personal recommendations strongly preferred over directory.

I am 34(F) Indian, living abroad with my husband. Growing up I always felt things don’t come easy to me. I was sick often, injured more than felt normal, and somehow always having to work harder than everyone around me just to keep up.
Last year I lost someone very close to me. After that I found myself unable to function. My body just gave up. I kept finding myself having flashbacks and dreams about the funeral day waking up and it being fresh all over again like no time had passed.
With that came widespread physical pain and multiple other complaints which led to doctors visits and a string of diagnoses hypermobility (suspected hEDS), fibromyalgia, lipedema. Every day I was fighting myself to do better, constantly doubting whether all of it was just in my head. Growing up in India every doctor told me since childhood don’t think too much, there is nothing wrong. That voice doesn’t leave you easily.
I got overwhelmed. Stopped going to doctors. Eventually went on sick leave as per my doctor’s advice. And somewhere along that path I was told that a lot of what surfaced was triggered by the trauma of losing someone especially because I had already been carrying a lot. I was diagnosed with CPTSD and put on the EMDR waiting list.
I wanted to feel better. Go back to work. Go back to my life. All of this had already impacted my relationship with my husband as well.
Medications tried:
Duloxetine : gave me restless leg syndrome almost immediately, had to stop.
Then after a few months I tried pregabalin. And for a while, it actually helped.
What it gave me:
• Significant pain reduction: back of thighs, lower back, SI joint, upper arms
• Sleep improved : deeper, waking actually rested
• Energy improved : I could do things again
• Brain fog reduced
• Rumination and internal dialogues reduced dramatically
• RSD intensity dropped
• Anticipatory scripting reduced
• For the first time in my life I had a quiet mind
What it cost me:
• Elevated prolactin : confirmed on testing, missed periods, facial hair growth
• 5-6kg weight gain, compulsive cravings, never feeling satisfied made my lipedema worse
• Emotional blunting : positive emotions flattened alongside negative ones
• Memory and recall significantly impaired
• Tolerance developed fast : the effect came back briefly after each dose increase then faded
• Withdrawal was rough : pain, emotional reactivity, all the internal noise came flooding back
So I had to stop it.
I am now trying amitriptyline. It is not working for me at all : just giving me grogginess and agitation until the afternoon. It doesn’t touch the RSD or the noise in my head.
The neurodivergence piece:
The reason I started looking into this again is that quiet mind I had on pregabalin. I had never experienced that before. It made me wonder if my baseline was never normal to begin with.
Growing up I had this dismissed by Indian psychologists online : without going through any life details, without asking anything properly, just dismissed.
This time I went through a detailed assessment. And what I was told is that any clinician would be cautious giving me a diagnosis because CPTSD is there and the overlap is significant. I was told I am very close to the threshold.
So now I am here. Confused. Wondering if it’s neurodivergence, or CPTSD, or both, or something else entirely.
Because while on pregabalin, for the first time, there were no multiple voices playing in my head. No constant internal dialogues. No replaying conversations. No rehearsing everything in advance. No rejection sensitivity flooding me at the smallest thing.
And without it all of that is back.
Has anyone been in this space close to threshold, complex picture, not sure what is actually yours (your personality/ traits) vs what is trauma vs what is both?

Loneliness on this path is real, no one understands the complexity of such profile and on the top of it these noises in head makes you crazy.

I am 34(F) Indian, living abroad with my husband. Growing up I always felt things don’t come easy to me. I was sick often, injured more than felt normal, and somehow always having to work harder than everyone around me just to keep up.
Last year I lost someone very close to me. After that I found myself unable to function. My body just gave up. I kept finding myself having flashbacks and dreams about the funeral day waking up and it being fresh all over again like no time had passed.
With that came widespread physical pain and multiple other complaints which led to doctors visits and a string of diagnoses hypermobility (suspected hEDS), fibromyalgia, lipedema. Every day I was fighting myself to do better, constantly doubting whether all of it was just in my head. Growing up in India every doctor told me since childhood don’t think too much, there is nothing wrong. That voice doesn’t leave you easily.
I got overwhelmed. Stopped going to doctors. Eventually went on sick leave as per my doctor’s advice. And somewhere along that path I was told that a lot of what surfaced was triggered by the trauma of losing someone especially because I had already been carrying a lot. I was diagnosed with CPTSD and put on the EMDR waiting list.
I wanted to feel better. Go back to work. Go back to my life. All of this had already impacted my relationship with my husband as well.
Medications tried:
Duloxetine : gave me restless leg syndrome almost immediately, had to stop.
Then after a few months I tried pregabalin. And for a while, it actually helped.
What it gave me:
• Significant pain reduction: back of thighs, lower back, SI joint, upper arms
• Sleep improved : deeper, waking actually rested
• Energy improved : I could do things again
• Brain fog reduced
• Rumination and internal dialogues reduced dramatically
• RSD intensity dropped
• Anticipatory scripting reduced
• For the first time in my life I had a quiet mind
What it cost me:
• Elevated prolactin : confirmed on testing, missed periods, facial hair growth
• 5-6kg weight gain, compulsive cravings, never feeling satisfied made my lipedema worse
• Emotional blunting : positive emotions flattened alongside negative ones
• Memory and recall significantly impaired
• Tolerance developed fast : the effect came back briefly after each dose increase then faded
• Withdrawal was rough : pain, emotional reactivity, all the internal noise came flooding back
So I had to stop it.
I am now trying amitriptyline. It is not working for me at all : just giving me grogginess and agitation until the afternoon. It doesn’t touch the RSD or the noise in my head.
The neurodivergence piece:
The reason I started looking into this again is that quiet mind I had on pregabalin. I had never experienced that before. It made me wonder if my baseline was never normal to begin with.
Growing up I had this dismissed by Indian psychologists online : without going through any life details, without asking anything properly, just dismissed.
This time I went through a detailed assessment. And what I was told is that any clinician would be cautious giving me a diagnosis because CPTSD is there and the overlap is significant. I was told I am very close to the threshold.
So now I am here. Confused. Wondering if it’s neurodivergence, or CPTSD, or both, or something else entirely.
Because while on pregabalin, for the first time, there were no multiple voices playing in my head. No constant internal dialogues. No replaying conversations. No rehearsing everything in advance. No rejection sensitivity flooding me at the smallest thing.
And without it all of that is back.
Has anyone been in this space close to threshold, complex picture, not sure what is actually yours (your personality/ traits) vs what is trauma vs what is both?

Loneliness on this path is real, no one understands the complexity of such profile and on the top of it these noises in head makes you crazy.

I am 34(F) Indian, living abroad with my husband. Growing up I always felt things don’t come easy to me. I was sick often, injured more than felt normal, and somehow always having to work harder than everyone around me just to keep up.
Last year I lost someone very close to me. After that I found myself unable to function. My body just gave up. I kept finding myself having flashbacks and dreams about the funeral day waking up and it being fresh all over again like no time had passed.
With that came widespread physical pain and multiple other complaints which led to doctors visits and a string of diagnoses hypermobility (suspected hEDS), fibromyalgia, lipedema. Every day I was fighting myself to do better, constantly doubting whether all of it was just in my head. Growing up in India every doctor told me since childhood don’t think too much, there is nothing wrong. That voice doesn’t leave you easily.
I got overwhelmed. Stopped going to doctors. Eventually went on sick leave as per my doctor’s advice. And somewhere along that path I was told that a lot of what surfaced was triggered by the trauma of losing someone especially because I had already been carrying a lot. I was diagnosed with CPTSD and put on the EMDR waiting list.
I wanted to feel better. Go back to work. Go back to my life. All of this had already impacted my relationship with my husband as well.
Medications tried:
Duloxetine : gave me restless leg syndrome almost immediately, had to stop.
Then after a few months I tried pregabalin. And for a while, it actually helped.
What it gave me:
• Significant pain reduction: back of thighs, lower back, SI joint, upper arms
• Sleep improved : deeper, waking actually rested
• Energy improved : I could do things again
• Brain fog reduced
• Rumination and internal dialogues reduced dramatically
• RSD intensity dropped
• Anticipatory scripting reduced
• For the first time in my life I had a quiet mind
What it cost me:
• Elevated prolactin : confirmed on testing, missed periods, facial hair growth
• 5-6kg weight gain, compulsive cravings, never feeling satisfied made my lipedema worse
• Emotional blunting : positive emotions flattened alongside negative ones
• Memory and recall significantly impaired
• Tolerance developed fast : the effect came back briefly after each dose increase then faded
• Withdrawal was rough : pain, emotional reactivity, all the internal noise came flooding back
So I had to stop it.
I am now trying amitriptyline. It is not working for me at all : just giving me grogginess and agitation until the afternoon. It doesn’t touch the RSD or the noise in my head.
The neurodivergence piece:
The reason I started looking into this again is that quiet mind I had on pregabalin. I had never experienced that before. It made me wonder if my baseline was never normal to begin with.
Growing up I had this dismissed by Indian psychologists online : without going through any life details, without asking anything properly, just dismissed.
This time I went through a detailed assessment. And what I was told is that any clinician would be cautious giving me a diagnosis because CPTSD is there and the overlap is significant. I was told I am very close to the threshold.
So now I am here. Confused. Wondering if it’s neurodivergence, or CPTSD, or both, or something else entirely.
Because while on pregabalin, for the first time, there were no multiple voices playing in my head. No constant internal dialogues. No replaying conversations. No rehearsing everything in advance. No rejection sensitivity flooding me at the smallest thing.
And without it all of that is back.
Has anyone been in this space close to threshold, complex picture, not sure what is actually yours (your personality/ traits) vs what is trauma vs what is both?

Loneliness on this path is real, no one understands the complexity of such profile and on the top of it these noises in head makes you crazy.