Hey John, I'm precious. Welcome to the group! You're right there are a lot of us that are in a lot of pain right now. You're also right that we're not alone. Neither are you so if you ever need to talk just message me and I will talk to you.

welcome to the group jon :)

Thank you both!

Welcome to the group, Jon!

Thank you and we're here for you too :)

Hello!

HI and Welcome Jon..... Do you have PTSD?.... xo

Hi Jon welcome. I'm Scott. I have been for years struggling for years trying to find who I am since my abdution when I was only twelve. Today I can say I'm happy and no where I'm going in life.

Scott

Hi, John, welcome. So how long have you had your PTSD diagnosis?

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I've gotten a few diagnosis over the years and I've been in the disability process for a little over two years now. It's very difficult for me to interact with groups of people and even just interacting with one person can cause me a huge amount of stress depending on the person. I suffer from symptoms of bipolar 1 severe with psychosis, ptsd, and elements of schizophrenia. I was severely abused as a child and I have never really come to terms with it. I am a dad (my son is ten years old) and he and I are very close and I am anything but an abusive parent. However I am very poor (no income) and last summer I got in some pretty serious arguments with his mom and now I am fighting to get custody back in a state that doesn't respect father's rights, where kids cannot represent themselves in court (or this would be over and I would have custody back in a heartbeat), and where there is a great amount of prejudice towards people with mental disabilities. I recently started taking Latuda, Venlafaxine, and Ativan, and that has made a huge difference diminishing depression and suicidal ideation which I have struggled with since early childhood. I miss my son terribly and we only get to visit together 4 hours a week since last October, even though I raised him for ten years and supported his mom throughout and after the pregnancy. Nowadays I am just clinging to hope and holding onto love, it's all I've got. I'm also a traveler - I've been to 44 states on bicycle, hitchhiking, and hopping freight trains; I left home as soon as I was emancipated. My life might SOUND interesting but in reality I've been through so many scary situations including medical abuse and abuse by random people that it surprises me that I'm still alive. After my kids mom and I got in a huge fight last year and I lost custody of my son, I attempted suicide about four times. I've leveled out since then and gotten on the medication I should have been on years ago, and I am hopeful for the future and that this horrible year will come to an end soon. I am very happy to be in such a supportive atmosphere and I look forward to reading, responding, and getting to know all of you. I am very shy sometimes and other times not shy, so I might come and go a bit here, but I'm happy to be here and to make the connection and to consider you all as friends. Thanks for having me!
Your friend,
Jon

Hi Jon. Wow you sure have alot to deal with. I admire your inthuseasom of not giving up. what I went through I would have been better off dead but I couldn't give up the hope that one day I would see my family again. Sometimes hope is all we have. Never let go of it. Miracles do happen.

Scott

Big hug Jon.... This is a great group.... I'm glad you've found us.... The Bipolar Board on here is good and active as well.... Big hug....xo

Thank you for your message Jon. Welcome to DS. Your message certainly brightened my day a bit. I hope you find support and healing here.

Hi Jon, welcome to you and God bless. I'm so grateful these folks are here

Welcome Jon,
It sounds like God has brought you through quite a few terrible experiences. I am glad that you were able to get help and that the medication seems to be working. Praying that things turn out well with your son as well.