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.
How can I get my mind to focus?
I think I am numb or something. I can not focus on much of anything for more than a few minutes.
Then my mind goes to the memories that are coming back of the abuse from 40 years ago. Suppressed it until recently.
Memories or thoughts keep running through my mind. The newest is how could my mom try to drown me when I was a baby. That is a memory that just popped into my head a few days ago.
Other memories I have been able to validate with my sisters help.
Now I just decided to not fight the memories so much anymore. Real or imagined I am messed up.
Really I just want to focus. I thought I was bi polar, depressed, crazy, unmotivated, and every other lazy negative message one could use as a label.
Now I choose PTSD - it matches with the symptoms I have read about and the actions people with PTSD do. I do a lot of them.
It all comes back to my inability to focus. About the only thing I can really do right now it read pages on this site. All the trauma, pain, anguish of so many people. I am torn, happy to find some place that other people understand and at the same time sad because I need a place where other people understand.
Wish I could cry. I think that might help.
I just want to focus on something other than abuse.
I think I am numb or something. I can not focus on much of anything for more than a few minutes.
Then my mind goes to the memories that are coming back of the abuse from 40 years ago. Suppressed it until recently.
Memories or thoughts keep running through my mind. The newest is how could my mom try to drown me when I was a baby. That is a memory that just popped into my head a few days ago.
Other memories I have been able to validate with my sisters help.
Now I just decided to not fight the memories so much anymore. Real or imagined I am messed up.
Really I just want to focus. I thought I was bi polar, depressed, crazy, unmotivated, and every other lazy negative message one could use as a label.
Now I choose PTSD - it matches with the symptoms I have read about and the actions people with PTSD do. I do a lot of them.
It all comes back to my inability to focus. About the only thing I can really do right now it read pages on this site. All the trauma, pain, anguish of so many people. I am torn, happy to find some place that other people understand and at the same time sad because I need a place where other people understand.
Wish I could cry. I think that might help.
I just want to focus on something other than abuse.
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My day...today...misplaced my debit card...didn't realize it until I got to the register after shopping to a full cart. Used a different debit card and pulled apart everything looking for missing debit card before I left parking lot. Got home, dropped keys. So now I have a missing debit card, missing keys. A full cartload to unload and put away. I got everything put away.Dumped purse for a...
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I don't really know how to label this but I having a rough week and I can't say it's one thing.... I have a lot on my plate which is nothing new and I try to cope in many positive ways and do but I still have my moments.My kids more so my daughters talk to me about everything which I know it's cause of comfort and we are close.... however I really struggle with the venting about their dad which...
I empathise with you and send my sympathy.
I hope this helps.
Honestly, the thing that has helped me focus the most is EMDR therapy.
This has stopped some of it, a lot of it.
i know what you mean about fighting the memories, I think we do not have a choice, our mind and our bodies will remember what we will remember... New memories take time to solidify too.
Hugs,
carrie
In my meditation training and learning how to reduce stress one point that keeps coming up is stop resisting.
Resting what is or what has happened. I keep wanting to be "normal" what ever that means.
I don't want drugs, or counseling, or systems, or training to fix what should not have been there to begin with.
That is resistance to what is. The truth is the abuse happened. I told my sister we had the trifecta of abuse. Mental, physical and sexual.
In a effort to accept what is and stop resisting what I can't change (the past) I am starting to come to terms with "I need help"
Thanks for your kind and supportive help. I will look into EMDR.
You are not alone.
Hang in there, it does get better as you journal and release the memories.