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.
Hello everyone... I was just diagnosed with PTSD. I grew up and survived verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, starting at age 3. I have survived six sexual assaults in my lifetime, the most recent one being this summer. Five of them happened in the span of one year between three different people, and they happened roughly 5-6 years ago. I thought I had gotten over it all, but... Well, I guess another assault is just one big trigger for a bunch of crap.
I was on a date with a guy I was getting kind of serious with... We were fooling around, and it was great until he did things I didn't want him to do. I told him no, stop, don't, but he kept at it. It became physically painful, and it wasn't until I was screaming and crying that he stopped. He just laughed at me. When I said I didn't like it, he got angry and beat me a little. I had bruises and welts for days.
I should've called the cops, but I didn't because I thought since I had consented at first and it wouldn't amount to anything. Later I found out that because he didn't stop when I said no, it was a big problem, not to mention him beating me. We broke up and later talked about things. He is getting counseling now for depression. I am still upset that it happened, but I am genuinely glad he is getting help and moving in a positive direction in life.
I, however... I can't even handle the idea of going on another date. I pulled up my dating site profile and just burst into tears. I mean, how do you move on from something like this? Two of my prior assaults came at the hands of someone I trusted who was clearly abusing me. I don't know what else I can do. Dating someone means spending time alone with that person. I have no idea how to avoid that and build a healthy relationship with someone.
I should probably just not even try for awhile. Of course my default thought is that if I'm not trying to find someone, I never will find someone capable of loving me, if it's even possible... But that's part of it all, too, isn't it?
Day to day life isn't so bad, but still... How do you handle intrusive thoughts? Like I didn't ask for a flashback, but all of the sudden I'm mid-lecture in front of my students, reliving it all. I don't know where to go from there. What do I say to them? How do I explain what's going on? What are strategies you use?
In general, what are things you find helpful? Yoga, meditation, prayers, coloring? Has anyone overcome certain aspects of this? If so, how?
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Hey All...I hope that you have a lovely, peaceful beginning of your weekI have a bunch of chores that need doing but may put them off til tomorrow and just hang out with my landlord/roomie todayWhat about you?...Anything special going on?Have a great day and take good care of you!!..Xo
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Once again I've had a fever today. I'm not going to the hospital because that's a huge waste of time but I did schedule a dr appointment for Wednesday afternoon.
Are you in therapy? If not, I would seriously recommend it. I don't know how I'd get through life without.
What do I find helpful? Sometimes sharing things here, just letting it out. Sometimes writing in my private journal. I spin yarn, something I find very soothing, or I knit. Or I play video games or read a good book to forget about everything for a while.
Did I overcome? Not everything, not by far. But with the help of trauma therapy, some flashbacks have subsided (I'm still struggling with others, but it's still something).
I hope you find what's right for you.
I need a well-stocked psychotherapy toolbox to manage the aftershocks of my childhood conditioning. Alas, I have yet to find a cure-all solution. I take ^it^ one round at a time. Peer supporters who have personal insights on what I am going through might be the most valuable tools in that box. Support makes a HUGE diff in my own on-going struggles.
Gentle support while you find what works for you. Welcome aboard.
But mostly I've learned to process my flashbacks quickly and efficiently enough to be high functioning and teach. I even worked as an ER hospital chaplain on the front lines in Chicago, being the person on my ER team who had opened the ambulance door and kept the patient from going into shock as we received trauma patients in our ER. I was glad to do it as someone who has survived 3 categories of trauma myself, sexual, domestic violence, and combat.
In any case, as to your query about dating, I don't. It just got to be too much trouble for me to explain my triggers and reactions. You'd be surprised that such a thing was a problem for me as a guy with female partners, and maybe it was because I wasn't good enough at explaining myself. But after years of giving it my best, including going to couples counseling with partners, I decided it was taking up too much of my life for too little return, and I closed my match.com profile.
It's been 7 years since I had a date. I've made more friends instead, both male and female. I haven't found there to be a big hole in my life, or that I feel less loved. To the contrary, I feel more loved safely than ever. But that's just me. I'm not saying I'll never date again, it's just that I have other priorities that serve my life in better ways. Again, just me.
Arfie, you mentioned tools in a toolbox - what kind of tools are those?
I am in therapy. I have my next appointment this week.
* Peer support
* Breathing exercises
* Tactile grounding exercises
* Channeling
* Playing musical instruments (including voice)
* Writing
* Nature retreats
* Walking/stretching
I could go on, but those are my most used. There is allot of trial and error that goes into finding the tool which works for any given episode, so I keep a variety in store and often look to my therapy support network for new/modified ideas during the harder episodes.
I learned my first channeling exercises in response to out-of-control rage issues. Being raised in child-sex trafficking gave me ALLOT to be pissed about, but the out-of-control part made for entirely too much random targeting at innocent by-standers. Intense physical workouts went a long way toward Interrupting those adrenaline charge cycles and purging the accumulated adrenaline from my system. I am happy to report that it worked for me. Gentler channels work for me these days.
In my personal senses, singing doubles as breathing exercises.
This is a good group..... xo
I took this definition off of the net and this is just what it is..... Medication can help