Sufferer Greetings - New Here

[revilome]

Hi everyone,

I found this site today while looking for online forums for PTSD folks. I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2013 and have had some more intense episodes with periods of relative calm. I recently began a new job and am trying to cope with the stress of that and a recent resurgence of intense anxiety and nightmares. My support system feels really thin these days and many of my trusted ones don't understand what it's like and aren't able to support well.

I belong to another forum for alcohol recovery which I generally like, but often people leave well-intended but callous comments (e.g. "who needs therapy? I go to AA, it's free..." - this kind of rhetoric downplays and misunderstands that some of us have more complex mental health problems and is pretty insensitive).

I'm hoping to find judgment-free community where I can learn from others, find company in this journey, and share my experience in a safe and healthy way among supportive people who "get it." I wish you all well - thanks.

 

[Iam43]

hello, I'm really excited to meet you. I'm sue. im on a journey to heal.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Welcome!!! '

This place is totally welcoming and judgment-free - it's been my life-saver and I go every day (multiple times sometimes) to get support and feel not "weird" or "crazy". Glad you'e here! Sorry for typos I have a tremor.

I have CPTSD adn got great resources for EMDR, which I just started. I also do recovery (for codependency) but a Christian version from teh church. I lived witih someone in AA and love the community but definitely it's dfiferent from therapy.

Sophia

 

[Iam43]

sending you hugs Nights are getting long and I sometimes am frozen. Where should I go at that hour?

 

[LadyZane]

Hi! Found the forum a couple months ago and have found it really helpful. I've been "diagnosed" with CPTSD (in quotes, because it's not yet an official diagnosis in the books, but many mental health professionals believe it should be, mine included) somewhat recently after finally cracking through the barriers holding me back from honesty in therapy. This forum actually helped me do that -- reading threads and realizing I wasn't nearly as open with my therapist as a lot of other people are.

Anyway, welcome, and I hope you find helpful support here too!

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Hi! Found the forum a couple months ago and have found it really helpful. I've been "diagnosed" with C...

haha I self-diagnosed. Or rather, I was talking to a life coach a few years ago who told me what it was and then I read up on it and basically just brought it to the T I see now and he once teased me and said "this is what YOU say you have, not me". He is very good at making me feel not crazy :P

And yes, this forum is the first place I turned to, to find out what EMDR was like and what to look for in a trauma therapist. I knew I was on the right path with mine and this is also the place I turned to to get over my transference and get a reality check.

 

[revilome]

hello, I'm really excited to meet you. I'm sue. im on a journey to heal.

Thank you Sue - I look forward to getting to know you, too.

 

[revilome]

Welcome!!! '

This place is totally welcoming and judgment-free - it's been my life-saver and I go...

Thanks Sophia - nice to meet you. I'm glad to hear such good things about this community. In the age of keyboard-warriors and internet trolls, it's wonderful to find safe-havens of kind people online.

I will gladly read up on your experience with EMDR and search for other's posts - I've heard great things about it. Another friend suggested I try neurofeedback as well and I am working through a phone-tag intake process with a group here in the Boston area to possibly start that. I saw an amazing (terrifying) picture of the PTSD brain responding to stimulus (in this case, a loud buzz-sound) compared to a non-PTSD control. It helped me to remember that all the things we experience are neurological and that there are ways to work to recover normal functioning. I'll see if I can post it at some point (I don't know how things work here yet!)

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

 

[revilome]

Hi! Found the forum a couple months ago and have found it really helpful. I've been "diagnosed" with C...

Thanks LadyZane! I'm glad to hear another mention of how helpful this site is. That's interesting how hearing other people's experience helped you to realize that you were holding back in therapy. I think I did a lot of that too, depending on the space I was in. I'm hoping to start new therapies and may try some more skill-based methods. I also recently joined a local meditation center, and can go there to sit anytime, or read books from their library, or take classes. I find meditation so helpful, and enjoy being in a space with spiritual seekers, even while there's limited interaction.

I'm glad to hear that you're getting more out of your own therapy now. I will try to check the diagnosis are of the site - I'm still a little lost on how to navigate here. Anyway thanks again for the kind introduction. :-)

 

[revilome]

haha I self-diagnosed. Or rather, I was talking to a life coach a few years ago who told me what i...

Ah - I love this, Sophia. That's interesting about how the site helped you with reality/transference check. I totally could have used that in the past! I will definitely follow suit here and try to read up on other's experiences to clarify what I want in a trauma therapist. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Thanks Sophia - nice to meet you. I'm glad to hear such good things about this community. In the age...

Oh please do post this! In this thread, or whatever - or tag me - I'd be super into this! I love that this place reframed my understanding of what I have as a brain trauma or a brain injury - b/c injuries are recoverable! I've recovered from physical injuries and come back EVEN stronger so that means we can recover and heal from this!