Former Drugaddict Vs Former Ptss Victim And Implications

[Bloomy]

Ive been pondering about this before in educational situations without being able to get it clear in my head.
I think I now start to get a loose idea of what it might be about and want to hear others opinion or thoughts about this.

As Ive seen before during education (atleast certain educations) other students have come out of the closet as rehabilitaded former drugusers. What then happens is that they often get cred, support and respect and thereby they are able to move along most often by this support.
I then been thinking that jeez I wish I was a rehab former drug user to. Cause how do I go out of the closet as former abused and raped, but now rehabilitad and ready for a new start? To not be able to figure this out has ment I kept my face and my story and pretended I was one of "them" - the people who had a plain and simple life were nothing has gone wrong. And that aint easy since in some ways my situation is similiar to a former drug addict. And let me just say for the sake of it - people start to use drug often to surpress and forget lives lke mine. It cause me more shame like I have to hide. Of course you dont just blunt out to each and all - hey my dad f*cked me once, but Im ok now and ready to get a life worth living. But atleast one could say hey Im a ptss recovery? Without saying so much more? But then again ptss is something many doesnt now about.

Anyways - Ive been thinking also that is it easier to come out as former drug addict cause it implicate that there is something that you can repent? And if you just do that you can be one of them?
While its not easy to repent having ptss cause it wasnt really your fault your daddy raped you? Or other traumatic incidents that wasnt on you and not your fault? And thereby your seen as someone that is marked and not up for a recovery and poor you for the rest of your life you must be sick and sad and a f*cked up one?

It seems to me the former ones is seen like this. While I cant say nothing and it put me in a awkward position cause there is something? And with my background I sure could need some of that respect and support too?

 

[ladee]

Many people are as clueless about addiction as they are about PTSD.
I am a recovering addict. Have had some pretty stupid and ugly things said to me out of ignorance.
So I only let a few people know I am an addict and only a few know I have PTSD. I am going to get support from the people who have experienced what I have.
People who have cancer relate to others with cancer. And so forth and so on. Others with PTSD immediately understand and support us.
I totally understand what you are saying annd we find our support here and among many other avenues.
I think many view addiction as a moral issue where 28th PTSD they see it as a mental issue. Because people want to make themselves look Good, they support an addict.
People are very afraid of PTSD. All they know are Armed Forces horror stories. That is why so many of us are so good at hiding our symptoms. We don't want to be judged.
Don't know if this helped or not. But having both, yes we are treated differently.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

That is why so many of us are so good at hiding our symptoms. We don't want to be judged.

Amen about that one!

I am also a now clean addict and VERY few in my real life know that and even fewer know I have PTSD.

People fear what they do not understand. Most do not understand either.

 

[Chiqui]

Yep. It is like having to faces/two lives. My neighbourgs, shoppers, people who see me everyday would tell you I am a very open and nice lady. But how long can I hide? I keep also a distance. When I feel broken, desperate, anxious and depressed, I have to hide. Isolate myself again and again. Who cares about me? I wish I could tell others and not feeling the fear of rejection or akward lookings...so I fake, and it is not healthy for my recovery.
Bad spot.

 

[Bloomy]

@ladee moral issue exactly. Cause as I said people think of addiction as something you can repent and thereby cure and then you will be all fine and dandy and member of the "good flock" again. You cant repent being fex sexually misused all though it seems that this is what people want and then that we tell them oh well it wasnt so bad and Ill be fine and dandy-
I guess humans anno are a scared flock. Scared of their inner demons that they try to cover up with buying more material things, take another journey to visit the poor in Africa cause it makes us feel good, do another selfie with trout mouth and focus on our good looks to cover up the empty shelves inside.

Psychotherapist Rollo May call our era the era of fear where the lack of love and fellowship is replaced by fear and hostile attidtide and neglect of human needs.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts all of you. This goes to what I said above about the era of fear. I dont belive its good either for my recovery. I do the same cause its all I can do right now.

@MariaY - I feel you. I also used to be a nice and open lady, but cover burst at the end as I could no longer hold up the picture. I made myself pretty unpopular and a menace to society many places now. I guess I must go back to play the Idiot (Dostovjevski) and be an assaine to recover as well as I can hoping for something better.

 

[Bloomy]

http://existentialanalysis.org.uk/a...iety_Rollo_May_transcription_Martin_Adams.pdf

Rollo May lecture

According to this Rollo calles it Age of Anxiety not like Ive said above Era of Fear.

The evidence is over-whelming, however, that men and women of today live in an
"age of anxiety." If one penetrates below the surface of political,economic, business, professional, or domestic crises to discovertheir psychological causes, or if one seeks to understand modern
art or poetry or philosophy or religion, one runs athwart theproblem of anxiety at almost every turn. There is reason to believe that the ordinary stresses and strains of life in the changing world of today are such that few if any escape the need to confront anxiety and to deal with it in some manner.

Full text of "Meaning of anxiety"