Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group

Find support with others who have gone through a traumatic experience. Whether you have chronic or acute PTSD, we are here for you.

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Anxiety Disorders
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A new chapter

veronameow
veronameow

Hi everyone,


I tend to pop back on here only really when I am struggling internally and am not ready to tell my support network in person but, once again, I have returned. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone in this group for being so supportive this far. I have not been able to find another group which has been so helpful whenever I have needed to talk. It's really nice to not be so overwhelmed when trying to address my emotions here. 


I'm entering a new chapter in my life where, after years of (what I am still struggling to call) an abusive relationship I am now in a relationship with someone else and it is going really well. My new partner (it has been about 9 months now that we have been together. We are moving in with each other in a few months) is incredible. He has struggled with similar issues with depression in the past so understands and is so compassionate about my feelings whenever I have dips in my mental health. Nonetheless, I have started to have issues with my emotions around him the past few months. Generally speaking I am fine but sometimes (seemingly out of nowhere) I will feel irritable over things not worth being irritated by, or I'll feel some sort of anxiety or dissonance being around him. I am feeling a lot of guilt over these feelings because he is so understanding and I don't want to push him away by reacting in a way that I don't understand. 



I have not been in a relationship since I came out of the abusive relationship in 2019. I have seen other people but it often resulted in me simply not having feelings for the other and breaking things off eventually. This is the first time I am learning to love again (and I really feel like I am), but I am finding it incredibly triggering. I recognized that I was finding it all triggering a few months ago when I started having serious issues with my (regularly occurring but somehow got worse) insomnia. I was getting horribly violent nightmares and that was enough for me to contact a psyhologist and seek trauma therapy again. I started the therapy remotely in preparation for moving to the place where the therapist will be and I am feeling positive about that aspect of this. 



Nonetheless, however, everything about this situation is terrifying to me. I am worried about feeling broken forever, or hurting the feelings of my new partner. It's very real with him and I want it to be a long term thing but the concept is becoming more daunting with the frequency of these triggered responses like I am feeling right now. 



Thank you for reading,


Verona

Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd
After not dating for 10 years, I'm in the 10th month of my first relationship with a significant other, Verona. It's been triggering to me, too, as you say it's been for you. As you mention, my most frequent symptom triggered has been insomnia. So far I've dealt with it by filling my partner in on what's going on with me, and that's made it manageable. It's been especially good to point out that it's triggered by PTSD trauma from my past, not anything my present relationship.
arfie
arfie
hello verona. welcome back. for what it's worth, my struggles seem considerably easier when i maintain contact with my support network during the good spells, as well. i think of it as preventative medicine. in the case of my mental health problems, an ounce of prevention is worth waaaaaaay more than a pound of cure.

i've been married to the same guy for 42 years and relationships STILL trigger my ptsd symptoms unmercifully. non-romantic relationships, as well. i still routinely run A CURE through the wish washer, but i enjoy more serenity when i accept it as just the nature of the beast. insert routine training exercises here. therapy maintenance needed.
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