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Sexual Assault I Am Not My Illness

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tasha07

Bronze Member
Hi,

I hope this is in the right place, if its not let me know and i can move it.

I have lived with PTSD for over ten years. I went through domestic violence as a child and then at 13 was groomed by a peodophile and physically, sexually, mentally, spiritually and emotionally abused, i cant really talk about the specifics.

Subsequently ended after 4 years and police prosecution. He was charged with many things and the sentence was less than good.

I just drank because it was easier than dealing with life, self abuse. But i cant do that anymore, i dont want to die but i cant live like this anymore, so i went googling online and ended up here.
There are things i have read today that reminded me that i have symptoms but that the symptoms are not who i am.

Like last night. I am afraid to go to bed. I dont like to dream. I find it hard to shower as sometimes the whole been naked thing just freaks me out. I am terrfied of people, i do everything to avoid all people. Trying to connect with anyone is a challenge, i freeze alot. My memory is terrible, its like a flour sive, i struggle to remember what day it is, on very bad days i have forgotten what year i am in, there are other things but i had forgotten they were symptoms, i was really was really loosing myself as to forgetting these are symptoms not me. I have found alot of hope today.

I have not gathered the courage to reply to anyone else story, i had to laugh at myself for panicking at the thought of replying and saying the wrong thing. I have been very shut down for years, about speaking to people as i fear confrontations, i dont speak alot. I guess thats the anxious part.

Throughout my drinking i have just kept retraumatising myself and have done some really messed up things that i have to live with (not hurt anyone, but definetly a toxic person whilst drinking.) I dont know why it was easier to drink than face life.

So here i am airing some things, terrified of pressing post but doing it anyway because thats part of recovery i suppose, but i will find the delete button in case of emergency breakdown. Its honestly just a relief to remember that these are symptoms not who i am. Has anyone else experienced this, where you just kind of forget its not who you are or loose yourself for months or years?
 
Yep, it took me several years to come to the realization that I am not my PTSD. It was just always so overwhelming, it became a huge part of my identity. Not any more, though. Welcome.
 
Thanks for your replies, its good to know i am not my ptsd but it seems more days than not i am symptomatic so it always feels like i this is who i am. I only had that thought when reading the thread "you know you have ptsd when... " i could relate to almost everything! This is amazing to know i am not alone. Thanks again everyone.
 
I like what seems to be a sense of humor between the lines that I read in your post. Welcome onboard. I think I recently posted something about loosing myself yes. Think I recently lost some time. But Im not my ptsd and its not me. Its just reactions to unormal experiences.
 
This is the first time I've had the gonads to enter the Sexual Assault forum, and I just spent about 5 minutes staring at the paragraph you wrote about what happened when you were 13.

I've got childhood junk, but it's the 'abuser' who entered my life when I was 12 that did the real damage. The types of damage you listed.

I'm not entirely sure what it is I want to say to you, because when I read something that close to home, it's frightening. But thank you for writing it. I struggle a lot with denial, and posts like this are so incredibly valuable for me.

Man I really hope you heal. I really really do. We should be able to take a goddamn shower in peace.
 
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