Good Afternoon,
I'm a retired firefighter/EMT (15 years on the job) and I was diagnosed with PTSD about a year after the on duty incident which left me partially disabled and battling chronic pain on a daily basis. The physical injuries caused me to have to medically retire. I spent two years in pretty intensive therapy and eventually I had the PTSD under control for a few years. Sure, I'd have the occasional bad day, but I knew my triggers and knew how to distract myself. But it was there, waiting just under the surface. It came bubbling up this summer and I've had one serious episode after another ever since. I have a second career in retirement, as a professor, but the PTSD is impacting my ability to do my job, as are my physical injuries which get more painful with each passing year. I often feel as though I'm at my wits end. Every day is a challenge, though I'm getting by. Sometimes it feels like I'm not living, but merely surviving. Thank you for letting me join.
Lee
I'm a retired firefighter/EMT (15 years on the job) and I was diagnosed with PTSD about a year after the on duty incident which left me partially disabled and battling chronic pain on a daily basis. The physical injuries caused me to have to medically retire. I spent two years in pretty intensive therapy and eventually I had the PTSD under control for a few years. Sure, I'd have the occasional bad day, but I knew my triggers and knew how to distract myself. But it was there, waiting just under the surface. It came bubbling up this summer and I've had one serious episode after another ever since. I have a second career in retirement, as a professor, but the PTSD is impacting my ability to do my job, as are my physical injuries which get more painful with each passing year. I often feel as though I'm at my wits end. Every day is a challenge, though I'm getting by. Sometimes it feels like I'm not living, but merely surviving. Thank you for letting me join.
Lee
