About six months ago I started a blog titled Understanding PTSD. You can see the story behind that blog below. That blog was intended for friends and loved ones of those living with PTSD. I was shocked by the response I received to the blog and on the blog's Twitter and Facebook sites. In addition to friends and loved ones there are several people living with PTSD who also follow the Understanding PTSD blog and I was beginning to receive questions/comments from them as well. I felt that these were addressing different areas and after much thought and consideration I decided to start this blog as a sister blog for those who are living with PTSD.
This is a place for people living with PTSD to share thoughts, comments and questions. Please submit them on the Submit Comments/Questions about Living with PTSD page and I will work them into a blog post. In the blog posts I will share my experience with living with PTSD in the hope that it will provide encouragement to others also living with PTSD. All posts are open to comments. I would just ask that you be respectful and mindful that everyone's experiences with PTSD and avenues of successful treatment are very different for each person.
Please read the Important Information page for more information about what this blog is and is not.
Please read the Important Information page for more information about what this blog is and is not.
Here is the story behind the Understanding PTSD blog.
I have been living with PTSD since I was a child. I was raped more than once and I witnessed a violent murder as a child.
I have found that the only persons who truly have any real understanding of my life are those who are also living with PTSD. Recently, one of those persons in my life committed suicide. Afterwards, I found myself in a conversation with a close friend of hers who I had never spoken with before. She understood that her friend had been in a lot of pain and she understood that was the reason why she made the choice she did but there was a lot that she didn’t understand about what that pain was really like for her friend. I told her she could ask me any questions she wanted and I would do the best I could to answer them. We talked for over three hours that day. In the midst of the conversation, it occurred to me that my friends might want to know some of the things I was explaining to this stranger. Later that night I sent an e-mail to my friends with tidbits from that conversation. My friends’ responses stated that the email helped them understand me better but their responses also brought me to the realization that my friends understood me less than I thought they had prior to the e-mail.
While I completely and fully understand what led her to that point, the death of my friend and the resulting pain her friend now lives with and the gaping canyon of lack of understanding that exists between those living with PTSD and those living without PTSD all sadden me. Living with PTSD is a very lonely place, even if it may not appear to be from the outside. I hope that writing this blog will help build a bridge over that gaping canyon.
It is true about the ultimate lonliness that comes with ptsd, It kills peoples basic drive in life, it ruins relationships. It is not self pity, it is merely devastation that is not overcome. For those with ptsd,I am very sad that others suffer sadness like this, I wouldn't wish trauma followed by ptsd on anyone.
ReplyDeleteI am a little late in reading and commenting on this thread but I would also add that it is October 2011 that I was diagnosed with PTSD. I have been treated for major depression, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc, etc for years. I have read other blogs where I have some scepticism about their authenticity (perhaps another manifestation of PTSD ) I started by reading 'Understanding PTSD ' and found my way to here. I find both to be authentic to how I feel. Your reason for blogging is not self-serving as many seem to be :) Congratulations on being real. The comment above says in words the many 'feelings and thoughts' that circle my brain 24/7. I will continue to read. I have not found meaningful 'resolution' to my PTSD and my other symptoms continue, now perhaps being attributed to 'aging' I know that there is an answer and discussions like on both your blogs may hold answers for me. Thank you to all. By not wanting to appear to be at a 'pity party' I spent time in denial. I have overcome denial. It is devastation as commented above and each of us has our own personal trauma. Therefore, for each of us, I believe there is an 'individual treatment plan' developed by learning from others what has helped. I wish many brighter days to all.
ReplyDeletelet me start by saying ... Thanks for your blog ... and, i agree with you that many outside of the direct PTSD experience - have no idea of what it means to live with this life challenge. And, as ptsd affects everyone a little differently - makes it all the more difficult for others to understand. I also think that society has a big stigma about anything of a 'mental health' issue and - generally speaking - have little empathy or compassion around these issues. That is why i am thankful to find your blog as it is an inspiration to me to do more writing around these issues and the sensitive nature of triggers - and suicide - and the mental health stigma around it - and how not to take the stigma on as i move forward it my life.
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