Hi Determinedone. Welcome to the forum.
Deciphering where my life and being leave off and my PTSD begins is an on-going challenge. It often feels as endless and obscure as the "Nature vs. Nurture" debate. Isn't that kind of like separating the branch from the tree? There are times defining the source is helpful to me, but I seem to get further asking, "How important is it?" A couple of examples from the two extremes.
1) Is my habit of sleeping in my clothes on the couch part of the PTSD hyper-vigilance. Not important. It is not hurting anything or anyone.
2) Is my extreme light sensitivity and triggering PTSD related? No physical cause was ever found. Turns out I had a childhood habit of hiding is small, dark places. A sudden burst of light meant one of the "monsters" had found me and rape was already underway. I still don't like bright lights, but I have not attacked neighbors for installing brighter security lights since I processed the memory. Good thing, I think. The nights are still getting brighter... 70% of the world's population can no longer see the Milky Way...
