I wish I'd found that EMDR, Susie. My PTSD got left for too long despite me asking for help ASAP. The first shrink I had was useless, although he was supposed to specialise in PTSD. He made me feel like I had no right to feel upset and traumatised and wanted to put me on medication for depression, when in my case I wasn't depressed, I was ANGRY. Absolutely furious, at what I'd been put through. I wanted to put someone through a wall except there was nobody in my sights. But certain flashbacks and reminders of the trauma would have me in floods of tears, utterly distraught. It took me years before I could see TV coverage of a bushfire, or childbirth, without falling apart. While my trauma did link in with long-term problems that built up from childhood, it was the traumatic incidents that were the last bale of straw (rather than last straw). Without them, I would have simply been a person who could benefit from a bit of healing in my past. Instead, I was a basket case for a few years and I know it's still not fully dealt with. But now I know it's there, and why.
I've also (before the trauma) had times when I was feeling overloaded and stressed by life. It was bad, I needed counselling. It had a totally different feel to the PTSD. I know then I was depressed, feeling hopeless, having problems either at work (sociopath colleague/boss) or with one of the kids, not sure what to do with myself or how to find my way out of the problem. At such times I take myself off for counselling and find it helps a lot. Doesn't always fix it, but it gets things to a point where I can once more step in and take control of my life. But having had all my experiences - I'm not sure I could categorise the other events as PTSD. Nobody labelled it at the time, other than "stress". A label would have changed nothing anyway. I just needed help, and went and got it.
Hang in there, hon. You deserve to feel better.
Marg