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.
So im writing this so that yall may know a little about me . Im 27 years old , no kids, and i have been married for 2 years ... a few years ago i was diagnosed with lupus, that diagnosis has now turned into lupus, fibro myalgia, anemia,adrenal insufficiency, putuitary tumor,adema,rls, and PTSD. Ive been hospitalized several times and almost died twice..... i also lost my cousin to suicide she was 24 years old, growing up we did everything together and she was just a really amazing young woman, the stress from that i believe is what shut my adrenal glands down.... i will miss her forever and she will never be forgotten ..........but im doing much better now. However October 11,2014 will have forever changed my life . My best friends name was Holly Combs she was the greatest bestfriend anyone could ask for. At this time she was living in lubbock and had drove to amarillo with her husband to suprise me at work .. it was my first week back after being hospitalized... that day i had talked to her for a good 2 hrs prior, we just talked about eeverything. When she showed up at my work i was so excited, you have to i understand that we were like sisters ... i wont go into detail but a few hours after she had gotten there her husband started to get mad for no reason well he ended up stabbing her to death right in front of me. The only thing that gives me some peace is that my face was the last one she saw as he
ran away... ill never forget the terrified look in her eyes. But this is why i joined this page , i am having a terrible time dealing with all of this and im looking for supportive people that understand
ran away... ill never forget the terrified look in her eyes. But this is why i joined this page , i am having a terrible time dealing with all of this and im looking for supportive people that understand
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Hey all, i know its been quite awhile since i posted on here. Its been a summer all right. Its been something else........... You know how they say not to open the can of worms? Well a few months ago i decided to find out what my due date would have been for my first baby, the one conceived by r***. My baby would have been due on March 4th of 2006. They would be 20 years old. I was R**** on June...
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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...
I hope this place does you well... and I look forward to your posts ((((hugs)))).
It sounds like there are many reasons for you to be here, as I recently learned our physical health can play a HUGE part in our mental health, visa versa. I also have a lot of physical health issues including fibromyalgia and recently celiac.
I am very happy to hear you say you found a therapist, what a great start. If you feel you aren't getting what you need from that one, don't be afraid to look for a different one until you are comfortable or believe you can become comfortable. Its very important.
Self care. Cannot go wrong with that. It is self compassion. Hot baths (help rls & fibro too), earthing, new hairdo, massage? If you like candles or soft music to calm you?
I am not sure if you journal, but I find it extremely therapeutic.
My strongest advice on PTSD recovery is a single word, "Customize." The knotty messes of trauma convolute in very unpredictable ways. No two of us have the same set of symptoms nor do we respond the same to the management tools. Additionally, what works or doesn't work for us in one phase of recovery will change as we move to new phases. Effective therapy seems to work best when you take what works for you on any given day and leave the rest without judgement or criticism.
I like to treat first meetings with a therapist like first dates. It is just a "getting to know you" session. It is an important relationship and chemistry counts. It takes time to build any relationship.
Welcome to the forum, April. Hope you find lots of healing companionship here.
I've lost people. And myself, nearly. It's grief with a capital H for Horrible and P for Pain, and the PTSD is actually *normal*. Seeing such things should mess us up. The people who are "okay" with them? Yikes. Scary.
So glad you've got a therapy app't:-) Yay! Keep us posted, okay?
And.... A lot of us journal our fears, nightmares, anxieties. Sometimes patterns emerge and we find triggers we didn't think could be triggers. (I've always known about me and ice cubes, but seriously, I had no clue about others till therapy and journals helped me find the patterns.).... Keep track of yourself. Moods and emotions. Which ones dominate and co-exist. For me, anger and sorrow come together, and so do anger and terror, but for others? Well, like Spacepony said, this is not a one-dimensional thing. Trauma fries circuits and we have to figure out how to re-wire ourselves for what is called "normal" life.
I use aromatherapy, healthy diet, gentle exercise (I'm on Fibro board, so pretty much what I do for my body, I do for my mind).... and I don't give up.
My abusers were my dad and sister. They're dead. Have been over 20 years. I still see them in nightmares and scream awake. And that's OK. I got trhough 20 years of them. I can let myself have nightmares now. So that's more advice---give yourself permission to be what other people call "messed up". It's part of healing. You don't re-learn to walk without therapy and crutches (as I know from personal experience), so the mind is much the same that way. Use the therapy and use the crutches.
Sorry to ramble. I'm tired this morning. But...
We're here to read, support, share.
Dont recall any experience even close to what you experienced. In terms of being an eyewitness. I new a male teen neighbor who was fatally stabbed during a robbery in a hotel when he was in his 20s My mother knew a woman whose daughter was murdered because she got in a car with a man she didn't know. My hubby passed from an acute leukemia 11/08. Yes such tragedies do affect us ,definitely somatically and psychologically.
Dont recall any experience even close to what you experienced. In terms of being an eyewitness. I knew a male teen neighbor who was fatally stabbed during a robbery in a hotel when he was in his 20s My mother knew a woman whose daughter was murdered because she got in a car with a man she didn't know. My hubby passed from an acute leukemia 11/08. Yes such tragedies do affect us ,definitely somatically and psychologically.
I'm glad you're meeting with a therapist. That's a good start. I wish you success on your journey here. ((((gentle hugs of support)))