Sufferer PTSD from childhood abuse (now I'm in college)

[OakTree123]

Welcome to the forum @OakTree123

I am an adult survivor of child abuse. I am sorry for what you have gone through. No one should be abused and especially not a child. I am happy that you found your way here. This is a healing place, I am blessed to know some beautiful souls here. I am sure you will get to meet them if you haven't already. Congratulations on posting your introduction, it a big step in my humble opinion. I think it takes guts and determination to heal and I admire that.

I wish you the best on your healing path and hope we get to chat sometime, (if you want).

See ya around the boards,
Lionheart

Thank you so much for your kind words. It really means a lot to me. I was unsure about joining this online community at first but I feel very fortunate that I found it. I would definitely enjoy chatting sometime. It's nice knowing that other people share your experiences, though I'm also very sorry that this is something you went through. Like you said, no one should be abused.

 

[Deanna]

Like I have a lot of supernatural nightmares (like with possessed people and haunted houses) and nightmares about people I don't know dying...but I rarely dream about my abuser.

Yeah.. I get that too. Long before I was diagnosed I went to the doc and got on sleep meds to shut all of this out. But, I got it by the truckload. You are the first person on this forum that experienced the nightmares like I did! By supernatural stuff. I believed all of that I dreamed, ( back then) when I was a kid. Scary as hell.. That stuff. I got on meds 10 years ago, so I was dreaming supernatural stuff for 45 years total, believing in it. Most of it came true.. Just in other forms. I was diagnosed with PTSD at 50.

 

[Deanna]

I went through this with my friends when I was your age, only I was not so aware as you are that they really didn't know how to handle me. Ultimately, I ended up taking a lot more damage because I felt very hurt and abandoned over how they dealt with me and I didn't always handle it well.

That's the exact thing you said about the people on this forum.

 

[Milli]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20 (almost 21!) year old college student and I was very recently diagnosed with PTSD due to childhood abuse. This summer I decided to go no-contact with my abuser. This was a huge step for me, and I am very proud of myself, but it has come with its own set of challenges. I'm facing a lot of grief, many flashbacks, and a lot of anxiety, among other things. Unfortunately, the friends I have opened up to have not been supportive in the ways I need them to be. I understand that many of my friends cannot relate to what I have been through and that makes it difficult for them to know how to respond...however, this has left me feeling very isolated and sometimes invalidated and/or unwanted. I feel that the abuse I survived is part of me and my identity, even if I don't like it. It is a huge part of me and sometimes it can feel all-consuming. I suppose I am looking for other people who suffer from PTSD (particularly due to childhood abuse) who can relate to these feelings because too much of the time I find myself being completely overwhelmed and no where to turn.

I have also suffered ptsd, going back to my childhood abuse from the hands of my biological mother and step brother.
No one seems to understand and now going through counselling myself at the age of 58.