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.
Hi,
This is my very first foray into an online support group like this. I am a veteran from Iraq 2004 with PTSD. My journey towards health and function has been full of ups and downs.
Right now, I am doing well in vital ways: I have stopped drinking for the longest period since my '04 deployment. I am getting stronger and clearer on the wild emotions that drove me all those years. I am also considered pretty successful among family, friends, and peers -- hardworking and dependable, despite taking great lengths to hide my deep struggles with depression, anxiety, and suicide.
This year, though, I made some great decisions. I sought therapy and attended AA. That really helped me understand the underlying causes of the actions and relationships that were hurting me.
I also came to understand how my actions and behaviors hurt other people. I've been working very hard to be a better dad to my two young children. Unfortunately, my marriage of 10 years is coming to an end.
Through these years I have done lots of reading and writing, trying to understand so much about Iraq and my past. I came from an ultra-religious family and experienced many things that I later came to realize were quite damaging to my developing sense of self.
The years prior to 2016 were a very hard road of fighting for mental survival. Yet outwardly I projected an auroa of calm and control to everyone. Now that I am admitting my issues and seeking health, I feel stronger and happier than ever in my life. But the relationships, like my marriage and old ties to the religious community, are crumbling. That really hurts.
It feels bewildering, which is by no means a new feeling. Yet this time, I really want to go about my future in a better and healthier way.
I know enough to know that I cannot do it alone. I cannot keep trying to be the stoic, silent one. Yet I know this will be okay.
I've joined this Daily Strength site in hopes of virtually connecting with some wise people. To find support. To find a place to express myself. To connect with others who maybe understand what I've been through.
I also hope time spent here will serve as an alternative to traditional social media, which often leaves me pretty stressed out.
Thanks.
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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...
Social media is a real problem for myself as well. I think it is important we find our core selves and all too often places such as FB, even if unintended, bullies us into feeling we are something we are not or not something we are.
Again, welcome.
Arfie -- Josef Pronek from "Nowhere Man", a novel about being an immigrant from Sarajevo trying to understand American culture. Oddly enough, many years coming back from Iraq, that story resonated with me. Would you recommend "Escape from History"?
Bit47 -- I find myself getting hard on myself. There is so much that I wanted to see happen for my kids. My brain just wasn't in the right frame of mind to be a good parent and example for them.
Other days I feel amazed that I've made it this far. And others I am awestruck by the hubris I feel... that I honestly convinced myself I could deal with PTSD and the war all on my own. It's so tough... I was a Marine too, so there's that image that I felt tremendous pressure to uphold. But it's taken it's toll. Even now as I go through daily life, I question the daily routine. I have difficulty relating to office coworkers who seem constantly annoyed at trivial matters.
There is a constant and daily effort to stay present.
Thanks everyone again for the warm welcome and kind words!
LillyPotter -- Hi Lilly!
Patti -- My kids are 10 and 7. They're awesome and doing really well! They have truly been my biggest motivators in my effort to become a better, healthier person. There were many bleak days when they felt like the ONLY motivation. My spouse to her credit was also amazing to stick by me as long as she did. I often wondered why she tolerated so much and did not leave me years ago. Her response was that the kids needed their father. It's sad that our marriage is ending, but she really stepped up for me. I'm starting to see how extremely fortunate I've been.
Just my opinion, but as for being a good dad to your kids, the best thing at their ages is just to be involved when you're with them. Choices are endless, but the best place to start is with their interests. So if they like soccer....kick the ball around with them. If they like to be read to...then read to them. Tons and tons of free stuff to do at that age...concerts in the park, picnics, making a scarecrow at a farm in the fall, carving pumpkins, making fall/ Halloween decorations (now's the time to start thinking of costumes), play dough (not just for little kids), ride bikes together especially if there's a destination nearby. If the kids will listen, you can even cross some busy roads to get to an ice cream shop. Hiking. Some kids love museums (mine hated them).
Sign up online and you can get 2 free tickets your choice of a huge list of museums on 9/24.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-day-live-2016/
Oh and now's definitely the time to start them on learning to cook. (As a single parent, my kids literally make dinners half of the time...and have for years...)