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Sufferer Back Where My PTSD Started

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raylauren

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Hello all,

My name's Ray, I'm 18 years old. I've had PTSD for two years following being sexually assaulted during an abusive relationship I was in.

I've only reached out for help in the last few months, as I've been away at college and have had the freedom to. Now my school's on break and I'm back at my parents' house, where the assaults took place. Since the therapist works through my university, I no longer have access to her either.

Being surrounded by locational triggers again has been rather overwhelming, especially when I don't have the support system I've gained over the last few months with me. I feel alone, back in my hometown, no one here knows what happened or that I have PTSD, and I thought I'd join an online group.

Anyone have any advice for me? I'm new to this whole healing thing.

Much love
 
Hiya @raylauren, welcome to the site! I can remember when i used to have to go home from college when I was younger and suffering from PTSD, it was awful. No one understood and I was too scared to talk to people about it.

Is there a Samaritans phone number you can call to talk to someone? Some kind of crisis line might also offer information about help that you can get? I'm sorry for what you've been through. There are lots of supportive people on this forum so keep posting and talking to people. All the best S3 😊.
 
Welcome to the forum! One of the best ways to beat triggers is to stay grounded. Or to ground yourself when you are exposed to one. If you do a search of the forum, you will find a lot on grounding.
 
Welcome to the community!

The ptsd cup explanation <<< The single best thing I have ever come across for managing stress & stressors.

There are also a number of articles on managing triggers & stressors, but not only is the PTSD Cup the best place to start, but being eyeballs deep in stress & stressors? It will probably be the most useful to you.
 
Anyone have any advice for me? I'm new to this whole healing thing.
Welcome and congrats on getting started on the healing thing while you are still young. That's probably going to really work in your favor.

You are in a very stressful situation. The best advice I can think of is to do as much self-care as possible right now and since it doesn't sound like you are going to be back in your hometown long-term, I would think that there wouldn't be anything wrong with not being super social with old acquaintances there. Doing so at this early stage in your healing could be very triggering and ultimately unhelpful.

As far as self-care goes, writing is excellent, exercise does amazing things, and making connections online might also be very beneficial. Yoga and/or mediation are said to be very good for relaxation and so is classical music. I find hot baths to be great for anxiety/stress.

Remembering breaks from school and thinking about being temporarily relocated for a break makes me think you will also find yourself plenty bored, too, and boredom can be very hard to manage, especially in stressful times/situations. So, whatever you can do to entertain yourself without causing yourself any distress would probably be worth indulging in. If that means gaming, playing an instrument, reading, watching television, drawing, or whatever, now is a great time to keep yourself entertained. You may want to look into online games you have never played or take up a new hobby of some sort.

Something I used to do while I was in school that I managed to actually enjoy was doing research for my future and/or creating future scenarios and seeing what seemed feasible. It would start with me deciding what career I was interested in. Then, I would decide where I wanted to live and figure out how much house/condo I could afford (using online calculators) with entry-level wages (and student loans to pay back) in the field I chose in that area. Then, I would look at houses in that price range in that area on Trulia. Sometimes, those houses were scary, so I had to up my down payment and imagine buying a home a little later in life but sometimes I would change locations and see what sort of home I might find somewhere else. It's plenty nerdy but I learned a lot and by adding a variety of different details to my situation (like a husband with a second income), it burned up a lot of time. It's a kind of internet-research-driven daydreaming.

You may even want to create schedules for your days that include the things you have decided to do with your time, so you know what you plan to be doing when and don't end up with five-hour blocks of trying to find direction and winding up stressed/anxious/depressed/lonely, etc. This could also keep you from suddenly deciding to do things that might be less helpful.

On the upside, this break is temporary and you'll be back where you have your regular supports, soon. So, you don't have to make a longer-term plan or effort.

Best of luck to you during this trying time.
 
Welcome and congrats on getting started on the healing thing while you are still young. That's probably going to really work in your favor.

You are in a very stressful situation. The best advice I can think of is to do as much self-care as possible right now and since it doesn't sound like you are going to be back in your hometown long-term, I would think that there wouldn't be anything wrong with not being super social with old acquaintances there. Doing so at this early stage in your healing could be very triggering and ultimately unhelpful.

As far as self-care goes, writing is excellent, exercise does amazing things, and making connections online might also be very beneficial. Yoga and/or mediation are said to be very good for relaxation and so is classical music. I find hot baths to be great for anxiety/stress.

Remembering breaks from school and thinking about being temporarily relocated for a break makes me think you will also find yourself plenty bored, too, and boredom can be very hard to manage, especially in stressful times/situations. So, whatever you can do to entertain yourself without causing yourself any distress would probably be worth indulging in. If that means gaming, playing an instrument, reading, watching television, drawing, or whatever, now is a great time to keep yourself entertained. You may want to look into online games you have never played or take up a new hobby of some sort.

Something I used to do while I was in school that I managed to actually enjoy was doing research for my future and/or creating future scenarios and seeing what seemed feasible. It would start with me deciding what career I was interested in. Then, I would decide where I wanted to live and figure out how much house/condo I could afford (using online calculators) with entry-level wages (and student loans to pay back) in the field I chose in that area. Then, I would look at houses in that price range in that area on Trulia. Sometimes, those houses were scary, so I had to up my down payment and imagine buying a home a little later in life but sometimes I would change locations and see what sort of home I might find somewhere else. It's plenty nerdy but I learned a lot and by adding a variety of different details to my situation (like a husband with a second income), it burned up a lot of time. It's a kind of internet-research-driven daydreaming.

You may even want to create schedules for your days that include the things you have decided to do with your time, so you know what you plan to be doing when and don't end up with five-hour blocks of trying to find direction and winding up stressed/anxious/depressed/lonely, etc. This could also keep you from suddenly deciding to do things that might be less helpful.

On the upside, this break is temporary and you'll be back where you have your regular supports, soon. So, you don't have to make a longer-term plan or effort.

Best of luck to you during this trying time.
Thank you so much for your advice!
 
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