Hello Glowoflaughter. DS has been a very healing place for me over the past few months & I’ve found the people here are very caring and generous.

My PTSD is one built upon many layers of trauma, each one slightly different but a struggle all the same. In the past, I ignored much of the symptoms of PTSD or mistook it for something else until a few years ago.

Of things that have been most helpful over the years is sharing, voicing my fears, pain, and being open as much as comfortable about the traumatic experiences. Generally I keep a journal about my progress & as a way to keep track of triggers and symptoms. This is very helpful for therapists & doctors to help figure out what “tools” help you the most. The nice thing about a journal is it is private & I can be completely open about feeling and my experiences without increasing my anxiety over see doctors.

Are you in treatment for PTSD? Having ways to treat the symptoms from a professional allows objectivity to remain when we're overwhelmed by symptoms that start to distort our world.

Peace, comfort & hope I’m sending you. May you find what can help you in healing process and gain different perspectives of ways to cope & overcome the pain to find the path that’s right for you.

Vltava. Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. I am not currently in therapy for PTSD. I do keep a private journal. I do daily gratitude lists, i pray, meditate, and am a part of two support groups, which are greatly beneficial. I have found that verbal boundaries are a great asset. I have learned from prior experience that discernment is a nessceity. I am a very open person, but it has left me vulnerable to emotional predators such as psychopaths and narcissists. My fear is that my lack of verbal boundaries will make me vulnerable. My fear is emotional detachment. I am attracted to dark personalities which leaves me susceptible to abuse. I fear the trend will continue. I know that individual and social conditioning has a lot to do with my emotional deformities, and that therapy would help me. I am in the process of getting my masters in counseling. I have a fear of that it will be too much, but honestly that's bullshit. My real fear is being honest with a professional. It hurts my pride.

Welcome to the board Glow..... I'm sorry for what's brought you here but I'm glad that you've found us..... This is a good place to come..... Big hug.....xo

Thank you for the warm welcome

I think I can empathize with feeling vulnerable because of lacking “verbal boundaries”, as it’s still a struggle every day to censor my openness & honesty that I go to such extremes that I become so vague anything said lacks meaning. It wasn’t until I married my husband that I realized the effects of honest admissions about my experiences had negative effects on many people. I had to learn the hard way that the struggles for people to accept me & my statements were of my own making because honesty can often be taken as opinionated pretentiousness, draumatization & exaggeration, or even as considered a artful lies crafted for attention. What a horrify discovery that was to process.

You seem to have a very postive routine & perspective of ways to manage the challenges of PTSD, and the addition of schooling in counseling must be an amazing, although possibly stressful, resource & insight into coping with you own symptoms. There was a point in my life were I was seriously considering returning to school & pursuing a degree in counseling with focus on abuse victims & trauma but the opportunity was never quite available & honestly I may have found my own experiences to be detrimental to coping with the strain of treating others for like issues & trauma. It takes a very brave and strong soul to pursue such a much needed occupation & I commend you, Glowoflaughter. What a wonderful asset to us all you are.

Being mindful & aware of the tendencies we have is a good starting place in my opinion as self examination and introspection have been a necessity for overcoming my own challenges & understanding how my illnesses affect not only myself but others. It’s too easy to be overwhelmed by the floods of emotions, fears, and confusion that comes with PTSD & other mental health problems that we lose sight of others and the consequences of how we manage to cope with things, sometimes positively & sometimes negatively. It is important to know oneself as only we truly understand our experiences but in order to be supported when we can no longer continue on our own, being able to express that knowledge is vital to others who are there to help in finding the right approach to healing.

You are very inspiring & I am grateful to have opportunity to share with you.

May you find support, comfort and strength here. All the best wishes to you.

I enjoyed your response Vltava, especially when you stated to be "mindful and aware" To know oneself is the greatest form of therapy. If harnessed with good intent it is very powerful. As human beings, we all fall short of the standard for perfection. For me, balance has been a challenge. I am usually on the beam of enlightenment, but tend to fall many times. I am stubborn and my resistance is my own worst enemy.

Welcome from me, too, Glow. Glad you found us. Sorry for what brought you here, but many of us can relate. You're not alone. This is a healing place.