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.
Religion is a private topic for us all, but it's not just off topic for my PTSD because church is the arena of a lot of the abuse that gave it to me.
I managed to have faith in spite of it and even became an ordained minister who worked for years as a hospital chaplain. To do that I had to put in time in service as a church pastor, which I did. My little secret, though, was that the whole while I still was not completely comfortable in church given my bad memories of abuses there in the distant past.
I serve as a guest preacher once a month, usually sharing something learned here while guarding DS PTSD anonymity. Even so, I visited around churches on purpose for 3 years now in my new town, avoiding committing to any one church.
Because I feel DS PTSD is a true supportive community, this summer I decided this Fall I'd give committing to a church home a try. HUGE challenge for me. Thinking about it triggers me, and I actually have flashbacks about church. So it was a big commitment to face my fear and trust community in church can be good. I know that sounds weird, but I experienced the dark side of church community as a kid and got PTSD that way.
So yesterday I followed through, and I'm so proud of myself. One day at a time. I even went to the potluck afterwards, and enjoyed myself. The brand name of the church I've decided to give a try to isn't as important as the people there. They seem like people I could trust (my big issue) so I'm going to go back and give it a try.
Big step for me, who too often sits in church having raging flashbacks instead of feeling support. Anybody have trouble with church or school or group joining like I do? Any tips?
I managed to have faith in spite of it and even became an ordained minister who worked for years as a hospital chaplain. To do that I had to put in time in service as a church pastor, which I did. My little secret, though, was that the whole while I still was not completely comfortable in church given my bad memories of abuses there in the distant past.
I serve as a guest preacher once a month, usually sharing something learned here while guarding DS PTSD anonymity. Even so, I visited around churches on purpose for 3 years now in my new town, avoiding committing to any one church.
Because I feel DS PTSD is a true supportive community, this summer I decided this Fall I'd give committing to a church home a try. HUGE challenge for me. Thinking about it triggers me, and I actually have flashbacks about church. So it was a big commitment to face my fear and trust community in church can be good. I know that sounds weird, but I experienced the dark side of church community as a kid and got PTSD that way.
So yesterday I followed through, and I'm so proud of myself. One day at a time. I even went to the potluck afterwards, and enjoyed myself. The brand name of the church I've decided to give a try to isn't as important as the people there. They seem like people I could trust (my big issue) so I'm going to go back and give it a try.
Big step for me, who too often sits in church having raging flashbacks instead of feeling support. Anybody have trouble with church or school or group joining like I do? Any tips?
I'm so glad I have support but the permission to quit the experiment at any time. I've just gotten so much support here in this community, I'm testing to see if I can accept support out there in the world somewhere. Not the same level of deep support of people who've had our shared experience with trauma, but just fellow traveler camaraderie.
We'll see. The test is as much of my patience as it is of their support. I'm not very trusting or patient with people out in the world at large. I haven't been the kind to stick around when my fight or flight PTSD response gets activated.
We'll see what develops....