internal
MyPTSD Pro
the tragedy of this myth has always been that it is false. trauma does increase a person's risk toward abusive behavior but most sexual abuse victims do not become abusers. in fact they are more likely to go on continue being abused and getting themselves into worse and worse abusive situations especially as men.and then they watch me like a hawk around their kids like I am gonna do something bad, that I would never do.
this is valuable input. the truth of the matter @Lionheart is that quite frankly you do not owe anyone an explanation for anything going on in your life. if it were me i would tell people that i am a retired veteran. you are of an age where being retired is not uncommon and most people know that veterans retire earlier.So in my perspective, I do not see any situation that needs my explanation of my mental status in such a detail that they will have no idea what the hell I am talking about.
if they press just say "i don't wish to discuss it." people may get a little bewildered because it is not often in life that one is told so bluntly to cease a line of inquiry but 9 times out of 10 they will drop it. they may form their own conclusions but that is inconsequential to you. i have never told anyone in my life about my history other than my husband and my doctor. they get to know. that's it.
at some point especially since joining here it has become apparent to me that perhaps that is not the best approach to the situation. but the thing about it all is that your choice to tell your story and disclose your trauma is yours and yours alone and it should be because you are in the process of healing, not in the process of defending or explaining yourself. (which is something that we as trauma victims do a lot of.)