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Poll Do Your Family and Friends Support You?

Do Your Family and Friends Support You in Healing Your PTSD?

  • Yes, they try very hard to.

    Votes: 29 14.9%
  • Somewhat, but I wish I had more support.

    Votes: 67 34.5%
  • No, not really.

    Votes: 77 39.7%
  • My family and friends try to sabotage my healing.

    Votes: 21 10.8%

  • Total voters
    194
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I voted that they sabotage my healing sadly.
Being around my family tends to create a lot of backlash and I have had to be really careful and put strong boundaries in place.
Most of my life I did not attempt to get support but when I tried very hard to change all this about three years ago and at age 41 I realised why. I think I instinctively realised that noone was capable of being a support to me.

My sister who should be the most likely one and has a masters in psychology and is registered to be able to counsel people had this response to me when I had a weak moment and told her I had entered trauma T: "shouldn't you just pull yourself together and get on with your life?".

Thank you. That set me back for weeks afterwards as I deal with monstrous levels of denial that I battle every day so hearing something like this is like the final nail in the coffin.
They all come to me and I am a support to them in life in general and choose to continue in a boundaried way since I realised that they do not have the capacity to reciprocate but I am safer keeping my problems to myself. I am fairly accepting of all this these days.

...not to look at the words people say or write, or the feelings they profess, but ONLY at their actions. If I look at my parents' actions (or lack thereof!), the best I can say is that they are unable to provide support. ...
Exactly and well said Sydney. Words mean absolutely nothing. There is another one that says to listen to what someone is telling you about who they are.
I would go as far as to say that support is a foreign concept to me and sadly now I have so little ability to trust that I find it impossible to take actual steps to make new friends that are a true potential support.

Batgirl,
so glad your family is so lovely!
 
They try, but there is nothing much any of them can do for me. Not to mention I cannot rule out that some of them are part of the problem.
 
I think people inherently want to 'fix' things rather than just listen. I just try to keep in mind that they care and that's why they try to do say. PTSD is so difficult for people without it to understand.
 
Ny daughter is very supportive of the emdr. I am blessed. They can see the difference in me. My husband is very supportive. I have alot going on so I had to cancel and reschedule my appointment. I do not know is it is my last one. I am almost done for now. I will have to wait two months to start all over again.
 
I have voted no for this poll because I feel that my family and friends do not understand. My family were not around when I experienced the trauma that led to the PTSD and I feel like in the beginning, when I was trying to explain how I felt and what was going on and that I was beginning to see a counsellor, they didn't understand at all what was going on or why I was so affected by something, so I gave up talking about it to anyone really.

There is one small exception to this which is my now fiance who tried to help but with ways such as telling me to "try and forget about it", and when I was putting more and more stress on him I tried to block out for him how bad things were feeling for me too; again I don't think he really understood (he's such a naturally calm and collected person!). I suppose in a way it is my fault I lack support but no-one I know has really been through anything like this.
 
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