Howard, I know what you mean about bad counseling...been there, but I've gone through dozens over my lifetime and been in a lock down ward 3 times and finally found a counselor who was one of the few experts in PTSD/CPTSD. There are certain Mental Health places that treat people on a sliding scale, so look for one in your area. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience...it does tend to put you off and people that are "counselors" are also people, so unless they have some expertise in the area that affects you, they seem to be pretty worthless. As for isolating, I didn't do it at first, but after misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis and too many meds to count, I was a blithering mess. My adult children were not the least bit understanding or compassionate, my "friends" turned away or maybe I turned them away. Most of my friends now live hundreds of miles away from me and I think they probably have PTSD, too. They listen when I'm down and I listen when they're down and we usually end of laughing. Now, I am only on anxiety meds and something to help me sleep. I fired my psychiatrist, but got my MD to prescribe what I needed. I go to therapy once a week and my therapist is an amazing human being, who doesn't judge me or hit me with "standard phrases" to answer me. I got my husband to start training at a gym with me using a personal trainer and we both feel so much better not being fat anymore, but as for going to the gym on my own...well, that's a little dicey right now.
I think we all isolate ourselves when we have our first major and/or subsequent breakdowns (which is what happens to me), but it does get better. The people in this thread who said you have to force yourself to go out and put yourself out there are right. It is like walking on a slippery log over a deep creek, but once you get across, you feel amazingly proud and strong. It's just one step at a time and forget about what others think...most of them have their own problems, so who are they to judge?:insane:
