Sufferer Fishing For Compassion With A Dull Hook

[Deo Juvante]

Hello all, and greetings from beautiful green country! I have learned throughout my life experiences, as I'm sure most (or all) of you reading this can attest to, first impressions are everything when the goal is to get something you need from others i.e. a job, or a fathers acceptance of you dating his daughter (mine being knowledge, and guidance from peers here). With that being said, let me extend to you my self perceptions of a battle scared Marine living in everyone elses world. Trying to cope with past wounds, while receiving new ones daily, and having very little understanding of what it is I'm dealing with has deterred any positive growth (fishing with a dull hook). That is until I read a few of the forums on this site. I've learned more about what PTSD is, how it can affect me differently than others, and a myriad of approaches to cope in the past hour than my entire time in the Corps, and out. So for that, thank you to all of my fellow sufferers as well as the helpers giving kind words, free of persecution. I don't know if I can explain in words how good it felt to know that there are such accepting individuals willing to go that extra step to help out, rather than lash out at ones disabilities or short comings. My first impression of you all is exceptional and I very much look forward to learning from you all in the near future. Have an outstanding day.

 

[Echo]

Welcome, @Deo Juvante - this site is a great resource and it does make an enormous difference to be around people who understand. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

 

[WillyKat]

Welcome!

"Living in everyone else' world..." Wow! Ain't that the truth? I've spent a lifetime trying to fit in and failing at it. Now I no longer try, and though I'm having a really bad week, I'm better off letting go of the parts of our sick culture that don't work for me.

 

[The Albatross]

Glad your here DJ, there's a good bit of support and a myriad of experiences here. Like the analogy of fishing with a dull hook and most of us very much understand dealing with old wounds and receiving new ones. Pull up a chair, and there's a lot to learn from this group.

 

[Nebulustrix]

Like WillyKat, your "living in everyone else's world" description really stood out to me. Completely unrelated (but I guess in a strange way connected), I watched "The Bachelor" recently, and the statement the Bachelor made to the last President he served fell along the same line- "I feel as though we live in two different worlds"...

I think we all, at times, have difficulty feeling connected to the rest of the world, but this can become an especially strong feeling for those who suffer through "abnormal" hardships. It takes time to reconcile those hardships and recognize that there really are other people out there who (while they may not have gone through exactly what we have) are capable of empathy, smypathy, and relating their own experiences to ours.

I think the real disconnection is not so much a different world from everyone else's, but a different world from the one we previously perceived. Before the hardship we each faced, we had a sense of innocence and a bright outlook on life. After- the innocence is gone and the world seems entirely different. My heart wrenches especially for those who lose their innocence so early in life, it is as if it was never there to begin with.

Nothing is the same as it was before.

 

[Ghostybear73]

Welcome to the forum Deo Juvante! Hope your hook gets sharpened a little here so your out there fishing with a dull hook. :)

 

[Deo Juvante]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Hopefully you alls day went as uneventful (the good kind) as mine.

 

[kyara]

Deo, awesome optimism. You've brighten my day. Thank you.

 

[intothelight]

Hi Deo,

Welcome and I hope you continue to find this site helpful. There is also a related site, MyCombatPTSD.com, that you may find of benefit.

Debbie

 

[Deo Juvante]

Thanks, i will check it out.