Recent content by sugnim

Well, I guess it's over now. I came home from work, and my wife had hung a sign on the porch that said "Welcome Law School Graduate." This was exactly 1 week after my graduation. There were lights hung on the porch. My son came out of the house dressed up. My wife followed. She told me...

Um...thanks. It was my wife, not my mother.

Yeah, she knows how I feel. And I understand her point of view: spending an hour with me to acknowledge my graduation just wasn't as important as digging weeds out of the garden, and it was too much effort for her to plan around the time and date of my graduation. Also, she's jealous that I...

I just need a safe place to vent this. This weekend, I graduated from law school with a juris doctor degree. This is a goal I have worked toward for well over a decade since I wasn't able to attend following undergrad. I worked pretty damned hard. Like others, our law school's graduation...

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I just don't even know what to think. Today, my spouse emailed me during the day to apologize and said we would have dinner as a family. She even attached a prayer she wrote and said we would have candles. Again, like an idiot, I looked forward to this. Yet...

Sure, I understand. I just thought it was interesting that everyone assumed I was talking about a man. I am the one who was diagnosed with PTSD. My spouse is in perfect health.

It's interesting that everyone thinks I'm speaking about a man when I never said that. Anyway, it's not exactly the fact that I was left out of these celebrations that hurts. It's more that I was intentionally led to believe something nice would be done, and then nothing was done. Even a...

What would you do if: 1. You didn't do anything for your spouse on Christmas, 2. You didn't do anything for your spouse on Valentine's Day, 3. And then you didn't do anything for them on your anniversary, 4. And then when it was their birthday, you told them you would make them a special dinner...

Honestly, I can only think of unhealthy responses to this. Blowing my temper, smoking weed, eating a shit-ton of food, sleeping, blasting music in a dark room, beating the crap out of myself or someone else, and blowing off all responsibilities sounds like a fantastic way to get through this...

Hi all. I need a little help managing some returning symptoms. I have been doing mostly ok for several months, but now I've had some symptoms that seem to have returned out of nowhere, and I'm not sure what to do. This weekend, I could feel my anger returning, just simmering & seething for no...

I want this out of my head. Growing up, my mother used to brag about how she would make a "good murderer." She would talk about how easy it would be for her to murder someone, how easy it would be to go somewhere and shoot people. She used to tell me that when the news cameras come to...

I understand, but I don't feel that redirection is appropriate for any age group. It's off topic, but in case you're curious, here are some reasons redirection might not be a good thing: http://www.janetlansbury.com/2011/06/5-reasons-toddlers-dont-need-redirection-and-what-to-do-instead/...

Thanks for all of your suggestions. My son does understand and have language to discuss feelings and how they affect our behavior. He is also pretty sensitive, so when others are upset, he likes to comfort them. When others are sick, he wants to know if they need a kleenex. I'm not at all a...

I have a 3-year-old son, and I am not sure what to tell him about mental illness. My mother suffers from bipolar issues, depression, and delusional thinking. Recently, her symptoms have become so bad that I have had to distance myself from her for my own health, safety, and continued healing...

Thanks to both of you. My mother has been texting me each morning with a barrage of ugly shit. What a way to start each day! I'm trying to relax, but my heart is pounding & my stomach is twisted into knots. I also have this double-think thing happening in that I simultaneously worry that...