My Mom thinks that my Panic Disorder is not caused from my past traumatic experience because she has had traumatic experiences as well but does not have panic disorder, is it possible that different people react differently?

1. All people react differently, its natural.
2. Yes, its possible for one person to have a mental disorder, but the other to not. Individual person and personality naturally result in different causes and responses.
3. A three year old doesn’t understand something like that. He or she understands that something is terribly wrong, but they are to young to pinpoint it. They also may not understand the gravity of it situation. As that three year old ages (and the horrible experience comes back again and again), he or she finally begins to realize about violation, and they realize that something needs to be done for the sake of recovery.

Absolutely people handle things differently. If she doesn’t understand, perhaps you can get your therapist or someone else to explain it to her.

Little kids don’t understand sexual abuse. A lot of them don’t tell until they figure out that its wrong, and once they learn that it is, they’re too embarrassed to say anything. Its pretty common.

It doesn’t matter what the etiology is if you can rid yourself of the symptoms.

@LeopardGecko‘s mom said: “if two people underwent the same problem one would possibly come out with a mental disorder and the other one be almost unaffected”

I think she’s right. The easiest example would be of a husband and wife being attacked by a vicious dog. The wife might retreat, while the husband might subdue the dog. Two different reactions to the exact same surprise attack. In the future, the woman might even have developed a fear of dogs while the husband just laughs about the experience.

Experiences, I think, do cause changes in your psyche. When you’ve got a mild and annoying mental issue, then, it’s best to seek out first an experience (or experiences) that can cause the beneficial change that you seek.

In non-layman’s terms I believe what may help is some CBT from what i’ve learned of it. Seek a professional for help with this.

Of course.

I’m sorry, but your mom doesn’t know what she is talking about. Panic disorders can happen from less trauma than that.
My first husband committed suicide and my 3 children all dealt with it (and are still dealing with it) in different ways. Symptoms of trauma can be completely different in different people.
Your mom probably sees you as an extension of herself. She is having a hard time seeing you as a separate INDIVIDUAL. I think you both need to get in therapy, both to deal with the trauma and to deal with your relationship issues.

“is it possible that different people react differently?”

Absolutely. You are the sum of your genetics, your environment and your experiences. No two people have exactly the same “equation” making up their personality. Everyone has traumatic experiences, but everyone deals with these experiences differently. Also, the effect of a particular experience and be completely different from the effect of a different traumatic experience.

“And that if two people underwent the same problem that one would possibly come out with a mental disorder and the other one be almost unaffected?”

Again, absolutely. That is why some soldiers end up with PTSD and some don’t.

“what would make a child not mention to their parents that they were being sexually abused?”

Even if a child felt that what happened was wrong somehow, if an adult tells them it is a secret and they mustn’t tell anyone they often comply. After all, small children hate getting shots but comply because adults tell them they must.

Also, at age three you might not have known how to describe what happened to you. In addition, if this was a family member or friend of the family that most family members liked and trusted, a child would have a very hard time trying to convince anyone including themselves that this “good person” is a bad one. Children get very used to being told that they are wrong and adults are right.

As others suggest, you need to see if you can talk to someone about your past and the effect it is having on you. Ideally, your mother needs to do the same. Your mother may be seeing you as an extension of herself, or she may be trying to ignore your information that someone was evil enough to do this to you when she was supposed to be protecting you. She may feel a lot of guil;t if she lets herself believe you.

Good luck. You can get past this if you want, and so can she, but it will take hard work.

I had the same thing happen to me at the age of three, and I could tell your mother a thing or two about why you wouldn’t have said anything. People asked me the same thing when I first spoke of it freely. But yes it is possible for people to react in different ways. I for one had many problems being comfortable in my own skin. I would freak out if anyone walked in on my while changing, and when I say freak out I mean I break down to tears and screams. I went through a stage in my life where I wanted no one to see me naked to all of a sudden I was acting recklessly with my body. I am lucky that today I have learned to better cope with what happened to me, and that I am now comfortable in my own skin. I still have terrible memories and still experience flash backs. I am still weary of people walking in on me accidentally, but no longer freak out. Everyone is different in their reactions to traumatic events. I will suggest that you talk to a professional about your panic attacks and consult them about whether or not they are triggered by this event in your life. For years I have shunned professional help, but just recently I have decided it is time to talk to someone and who knows it could work.