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.
I'm really angry today, not at anyone but just angry. I'm tired putting up a front, fighting this fight is leaving me weary sometimes I just dont care. I love my family but it's me, the mrs and my daughter about to be 14. I'm tired of those two yelling at each other, I'm tired of the attitudes, I'm tired of once we get done dealing with my daughter the stress has only just started because now I have to listen to the wife repeat every detail until I'm ready to run screaming.
I'm tired of pain within that can't be cured, I'm tired of being afraid...I can't get the thought out of my mind of just packing up and going somewhere nobody knows me and very few people live. I'm tired of people in my life, let me live...is that too much to ask? Why do people not understand that someone who has a stress disorder doesn't need any extra stress.
I have a 28 year old son, he got married 6 years ago, made two kids but all he does is play video games. His wife kicked him out, I convinced him to join the service like I did. He couldn't hack it and got himself kicked out. Before that he couldn't hold a job, now he has a less than honorable discharge to add to that. All he does is call and whine about the world is so unfair. If I dare try to tell him how I am he says "that's okay" and switches the subject back to his self made woes.
Father's day it was "I might have to start selling things like my big screen tv". I dont have a big screen, that's a luxury. Last month he told me he had to buy an xbox because he found three games at a price he couldn't resist now he needs a console. He needs a job, he needs a kick in the ass, he needs to grow up, he also needs his father but dad is getting tired.
I can't even get anything started in my studio because I don't think I'll finish it...I just sit and stare through the tv. What went wrong?
I'm tired of pain within that can't be cured, I'm tired of being afraid...I can't get the thought out of my mind of just packing up and going somewhere nobody knows me and very few people live. I'm tired of people in my life, let me live...is that too much to ask? Why do people not understand that someone who has a stress disorder doesn't need any extra stress.
I have a 28 year old son, he got married 6 years ago, made two kids but all he does is play video games. His wife kicked him out, I convinced him to join the service like I did. He couldn't hack it and got himself kicked out. Before that he couldn't hold a job, now he has a less than honorable discharge to add to that. All he does is call and whine about the world is so unfair. If I dare try to tell him how I am he says "that's okay" and switches the subject back to his self made woes.
Father's day it was "I might have to start selling things like my big screen tv". I dont have a big screen, that's a luxury. Last month he told me he had to buy an xbox because he found three games at a price he couldn't resist now he needs a console. He needs a job, he needs a kick in the ass, he needs to grow up, he also needs his father but dad is getting tired.
I can't even get anything started in my studio because I don't think I'll finish it...I just sit and stare through the tv. What went wrong?
Are you seeing a therapist? Taking any meds to help you feel better?
My son is 29 and doesn't follow society's rules or black and white letter of the law.
He kavatches about being so poor and goes on and on about 'why he isn't rich'. My health and PTSD don't concern him at all. So I don't talk to them like I used to.
Gotta tell ya that I am moving away as soon as I am through with a trial in late fall '09. I don't know anyone where I'm going and can't wait until I find a place to be alone so that I don't have to put up with other people and I can live in peace.
Hoping for you to feel some joy and peace tomorrow and the days that follow.
I was laid off from an intollerable job that I have worked at for the past four years. The economy is so bad right now. I've worked my ass off trying to find a job. Can't even get a dishwashing position (and I have tried at several places). With the only exception being two years in college, I've worked 33 years of my life with no support. I was homeless when I took my present job and worked even while I was homeless for several months.
I watch people around me as I contemplate what is going to happen to me now. The young boys working at the pizza joint around the corner all have new sporty cars (I don't own a car), the neighbors having a birthday party in their yard, a few doing yard work or re-painting their homes or garages, a young family playing with their kids while the dog is yipping at the cars that drive by. The neighbors aren't wealthy, but their lives seem stable and sane. In contrast, I am terrified right now of winding up homeless again...and angry that I haven't found alternate work yet. What about retirement? I don't know what I'm going to do! Point is, it certainly is hard to see how some (family or not) seem to be able to afford and maintain such luxuries when you, yourself, have worked your ass off (not to mention with a complicated mental health condition) and have little or nothing to show for it. It's hard to see how some also don't appreciate what it means to have stable work, insurance, a vehicle (if not more than one).
Several years ago, I got so fed up that I couldn't find work after losing a job, I threw my hands up, put my stuff in storage, and caught a train to an abscure place out East. It was a disaster. My money got stolen while I was in a hotel, the shelter turned out to be so rough that even the tougher Sicilians in town warned me to not go there. I presume you would have more resources, but...point is, I have done this and it isn't impossible, but it is hard-- especially with PTSD. I remember the panic attack I had on the train as it was speeding toward New York from DC--when I realized there was no turning back. I remember how bad the hives got then, too. I'm babbling. Excuse me.
Do you think it might be good for you to just take a break? Is it possible to go on a vacation? Someone told me once that even if you can't afford to go anywhere, you can still plan a mini vacation close to home. I should talk. I have only gone on one vacation in my whole life. I was 13.
Please excuse me. I just got off of work and I can't seem to stop babbling.
I think that at this stage it's important to remember that one constant in the world is change. Things will change. It's hard to keep that in mind when you so badly want to feel better.
Extra stress sure is hard to cope with, you are right. I've felt like I'm drowning many times but that feeling does pass.
Hang in there. Do you have any ways to cope with anger? A punching bag? A dog you can howl with? We can't control how our brain reacts to things but we can control how we cope with them. Writing this was a great way to cope so I suspect you have other ways too.
Be gentle with yourself. It will pass.
I too, am tired of all the PTSD crap. I'm tired of feeling like a drama queen all the time. I want so bad for everyone to be wrong. I want to be able to just "get over it." I'm tired. I'm sick of it taking every ounce of energy out of me just to exist.
I'm going to make a bold statement. Your son needs some tough love. He needs a cold shoulder.
I don't have very much to do with my parents. If I'm ever going to get better and stay better I won't be able to. My mom does the whole "woe is me, I've got whatever the disease may be for the day." My dad is a control freak who has this warped sense of reality.
Nothing went wrong with your son. He made his own decisions.
Don't enable, but lovingly guide and coach. Even adults need guidance and direction from peers, friends, and family. Turning your your cheek and withdrawaling without any communication or coaching of some form will only have a counter effect.
The authoritarian approach never sat well with me.
I'm glad I found this place, it's doing me a world of good, most people just don't understand. Here people do, I thank all of you and Doug for creating this little oasis.
Oh and about being in therapy, not until Septemember again and a new batch of interns.