I've seen this talked about around the Internet, how some folks get PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) after having a sighting.

Personally, I think PTSD affects people differently. All my sightings and encounters never gave me PTSD, because I was prepared to see Bigfoot. That was what I was out there for.

Now the thing I relate to researchers and observers alike when they go out in the field with me, is that everyone deals with things differently. Each of us has a bottle that our fear is in, sometimes it will fill up with fear faster than other times, but when the bottle overflows, it's time to get that person out of there before they wig out. And I always watch out for my researchers to see who may have their bottle filling up when in the field.

Witnesses could possibly get PTSD because they are not prepared to see what they encounter.

What does everyone think about PTSD in relation to Bigfoot sightings? Just food for thought.

I think it should be a concern.

We've discussed this DW, about an encounter I had,, I am slowly working through it.. Knowledge is the key,,,I am convinced it is a very real concern!

I believe Mike had some real problems after his sighting, it took him weeks to get settled down and he was already a seasoned researcher on an outing when he saw it

Great point DW... This is a real concern..

I think it is of some concern also. I have seen some folks totally wig out when there are "sounds in the night" but nothing visible. I believe you must get a mind set on what you are going to do before it happens so that
you won't be surprised when it does.

There is a host of long standing Native American spiritual/ritual warnings concerning those who either see or, even worse, have an accidental up close encounter with BF, after which bad luck or serious misfortune is said to befall the witness. Whether this acts psychologically as a self fulfilling prophecy because something bad is 'supposed to happen' -- by way of the power of suggestion -- or whether there is something otherwise mysteriously operating here, such as the notion of BF's infrasound being able to carry a message of malevolent intent (sound carrying intent, now that is spooky stuff, although quantum physics describes such stuff today using the term 'entanglement'), we will probably never know. But as a real psychological and emotional phenomenon BF induced PTSD is a result, in varying degrees, for many who have encountered Mr. Fuzzy. Every other BF forum I have sampled over the years seems to have discussed this issue at one time or another.

Drs. Bindernagel, Meldrum and others have mentioned the weird sensation reported by researchers in Africa who for the first time see a large biped approaching them. There is nothing quite like it and for some reason there often is an accompanying moment of terror, perhaps because we have been taught that man is the only animal in the modern world that walks upright all of the time; or perhaps because a man alone without modern weapons for protection (think primordial memory buried deep within our genetic makeup) is no match against almost any anthropoid ape, given their superior strength and agility. Seeing another upright, hairy, creature which is clearly not man is simply unnerving.

I personally know of at least one serious case in this regard which required considerable medical intervention. In some cases the resulting psychological and emotional trauma manifests in actual physical symptoms and problems. Anything powerful enough to span the distance between the emotional and the physical is powerful, indeed.
Opsimath

It should be noted, that after seeing the Ape Parade myself, it did take almost a year before i could get myself to go back into the Hidden Bean Field, it shook me up that bad, but I think it had more to do with the number of the creatures in the parade than being in any real danger (despite the guard detail standing behind the Blazer). It wasnt PTSD, it was just that I was very shook up over the incident. And I'd been doing it for years and had sightings already under my belt. Sometimes you just can't anticipate everything you will see out there.

i myself had a little ptsd after my encounter as a young boy and did not know it. at the time i was more concerned about my dad not believing me, really bothered me for a year or so then my brother and cousin actually seen bigfoot but would not tell dad. i to this day have not gone back in that neck of the woods. but that is about to change, not far from stigler, myself and my friend that was with me on the day i cant forget are going back when it gets a little warmer maybe in april . sorry to wonder off track, yes it is a big concern. jmo

IMHO, no matter how often one sees them you are never prepared. My jaw has dropped every time and probably always will. Nothing can prepare an individual for that moment, no matter how much talking oneself into it one may try to do in advance. Maybe there are others who have somehow managed to conquer the moment, but I haven't, and I don't think I ever will. So then the question arises -- would I do it again, would I want to see one again? Ummm... (gotta' wait for it) YOU BET!!! Even though I'm a nervous wreck!
Opsimath

I for one have never seen one, I think I may have seen one but I am not sure. After reading DW's entry, how can we truly prepare our selves for such an encounter?