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It depends on if I asked for space and how many times. For those of us with PTSD, we sometimes don't realize we need to ask for space. We feel smothered, but often don't feel safe standing up for our needs/feelings, and that's if we can identify them in the first place. I have to remind my...

@jesse it is definitely not just you!

Mine is from an artist that I love, Michael Parkes. There are several of his paintings that speak to me and this one is suited nicely to profile pictures. I see it as myself, mostly solitary except for my pets, reading all the time. There is one by him that I absolutely love, I'm not sure how to...

You can check who you have blocked. Is it possible he's created a new account? The problem with blocking is it blocks the account, not the person.

I think it's important for people to acknowledge the progress of others, particularly those who share their experiences. Sometimes it's hard to be proud of ourselves, so we need to hear the affirmation from others. You showed personal growth and that's huge. :hug:

I'm proud of you! I experience the opposite a lot--jumping up to do something because someone hinted at it, or they express a problem and then it's obviously my job to fix it. I now ask, "Did you want to ask me to do something?"

I may have missed it in reading your post--is your youngest as mean as the rest? Is there a way to compromise? I can relate to what you've said about your ex--my dad and his wife are that way. She even tried to make my little brother call her Mom. Our mom is still living. They got married on her...

I need alone time every day, at least twenty minutes. Often I've associated this time with my shower routine and will take a long time getting thoroughly clean and air drying and applying lotion or brushing my hair. Other things I've done to achieve aloneness when not alone is to plug in...

It takes a long time in recovery before thanks and apologies start to happen. A lot of work. You don't owe him patience, and you may never get your apology, anyway. The important thing is that you've identified your feelings, wants, and needs. The hard part is finding a healthy way to express...

Exactly. My partner's colleague asked him the other day why I didn't go mountain biking with him--he loves mountain biking and we usually do outdoors stuff together. There are a number of accurate reasons he gave, but his big answer was that mostly I like to be alone and hang out with my cat...

YES. There is this moment when I say something very real about my experiences in a completely casual way and I can see everything shifting for the other person. I find it happens most frequently and does the most damage with people who have never experienced anything bad in their lives.

@shimmerz, I really recommend the book The Normal One: Life with a Difficult or Damaged Sibling. While the book focuses mostly on siblings of children with psychological/mental/physical disabilities, it does a great job recounting what life can be like for "the normal one". I'm deeply damaged...

You should definitely be asked. Even if you were ok with the nephew, they need to assume you have a life and possibly plans. I would go somewhere else for the weekend so that I couldn't babysit, but if you are uncomfortable doing something that extreme, maybe ask a calming, trusted friend to...

I have learned to evaluate my fear and if it persists after evaluation, then I trust it. I take a long time getting to know people. If I know someone well I generally have faith that they don't intend to hurt me, even though they sometimes might. Example: boyfriend does something triggering--I...

My brother was awful to my mom for many years before she saw what he really was and told him she couldn't support his sick behaviors anymore. I love my brother and I know that he is sick--the person he became is not the brother I grew up with. It was such a relief to me to see my mom do that. To...

Repeat after me: I cannot control the actions of others. You've brought it up to your sister. That's all you can do. You can tell your brother in law that you think she's being abusive and if he wants help you are here to support him, but you can't make him get help or even see that he's being...

I'm not on Fish Oil, but I'm willing to try it. Natural remedies have always given me the most relief with the least side-effects. I'm currently doing the teaspoon of local honey every day to expose myself to local allergens. It's awful!

Thank you everyone for your responses. Zyrtec was my last try. I'm completely delirious with Claritin and Allegra. Benadryl is a no-no, as well as I will bloom with the most beautifully red rash you've ever seen in your life. I think those are the only OTC, no? I'll have to try for a...

This might be an odd question for this thread, but does anyone else find that allergy medications make anxiety worse? It's been a few times now that I've taken half a Zyrtec and not only does it still knock me on my ass, but I wake up from these involuntary naps several times in a complete...

Read "The Sociopath Next Door". It's a wonderful book--helped me understand my dad and my first ex husband better. Also, leave him, please. You can get a divorce without his consent. Leave and file, and if he fails to respond, most places allow you to "publish" a divorce. you post the court...

I start a new job on Monday (YAY), but I'm starting to have serious anxiety about it. I'll be working with people with developmental disabilities, and sometimes (especially the men) have poor boundaries around attractive women. Yes, I'm pretty. I'm worried about triggers. It's always made me a...

@LoftyLou She shouldn't have yelled at you, though I will say that sometimes when my partner is trying to be helpful and has wonderful intentions, I just want him to back the f*ck up and stop *trying to control* everything. So you see, we are a little crazy. But, you're right, you...

Dealing with the same from a severely depressed partner. His negativity and anger are triggering to me in the extreme--I am the one with the PTSD. Trying to get him in counseling and I'm not ready to give up on an otherwise beautiful relationship.

Absolutely. And even emotionally healthy people aren't that 100% of the time. But they can try to be. It's good to be able to trust that your partner isn't trying to hurt you, and to have them trust the same. It's so important to be able to communicate when you're hurt without assigning blame or...

I might be the only one here, but I think it's big of you and quite introspective to to decide that the cheating incident isn't a deal breaker. I don't judge people who think that cheating is a deal breaker, but I think that it's important to realize that cheating is more than what we often hype...