NiceTea4

What would you tell someone that can’t see the good in the world anymore?

What do you think about people diagnosed with PTSD that haven’t been to war? *I’m not a veteran, I’m just a date rape and sexual abuse survivor. Sometimes, I fear I am taking away the seriousness of PTSD by acknowledging the issues I have that I haven’t, “earned”, for lack of better words

It doesn’t, it’s quite comforting, actually. I’m deep in it and everyone around me seems to have bounced back. It’s less isolating to hear you’re not the only one

Only for about a decade, lol 😵‍💫

I can relate to feeling like you’re not far enough along in your healing, or like you’re clearly not OK but everyone around you seems fine. That’s a really rough place to be. It’s hard to answer the question, “how do I feel other people around me perceive me.” I can answer this with what they’ve SAID- which that it was brave to come forward, I’m a fighter, I’m a survivor, I’m strong, etc. but just because they say those things doesn’t mean I FEEL that way. I think for most PTSD survivors our greatest enemy is our mind. I think that when you experience trauma, you also experience a break in trust of like, humanity. For me, I still can’t walk anywhere alone. I don’t trust humanity around me to protect me or not attack me when I’m alone. For you it sounds like your mind is telling you that you can’t trust what the people around you love and see— strength and resiliency. And if they don’t see it in you, I do. I bet the OP does. It’s okay to feel like you aren’t strong sometimes, but that’s your mind playing tricks. You’ve survived a hell of a lot that would have taken down a person with less will to live. You are the definition of strength and don’t you forget it.