My personal PTSD story about stairs

Personally, I have PTSD related to stairs. I had a stair accident when I was young, and since then, I developed a fear of stairs. I want to talk about the accident story, what happened afterward, and how I am doing now.

The reason I developed PTSD is that when I was in elementary school, I slipped and fell down the stairs while going down the school stairs. Fortunately, I was with a friend at the time, and my friend took me to the nurse's office, where I received first aid. Although I received first aid, my ankle hurt so much that I went to the hospital after school.

When I went to the hospital, I had injured my ankle quite badly and had to wear a cast for a long time. I remember it was summer at that time. It was very hot, and having to wear a cast made it uncomfortable and difficult to get through the days.

After barely recovering, I became afraid of going down the stairs from that point on. I always hold the handrail when going down and try not to rush down the stairs. Of course, on the positive side, I became more cautious and used the stairs more safely myself, but since then, my fear of stairs has become very severe.

When this phobia becomes severe, I sometimes feel my heart pounding when I see steep stairs or circular stairs. At that moment, I thought, "Is this PTSD?" Back then, the concept of PTSD didn't exist... It hasn't been long since PTSD was defined.

Seeing others on the stairs, I realized that not everyone experiences a pounding heart, and I understood that it’s not a common symptom. I was scared, so my body trembled slightly and my heart pounded.

Since then, I realized I definitely developed PTSD. So I chose to take a different route instead of the stairs, but even now, when I see those stairs, my heart races too quickly.

I don't know how to overcome this PTSD. Are there anyone else who has PTSD related to stairs like me? Should I try using stairs to overcome this PTSD? The stairs I am talking about are the ones in the picture.