Poll. Have you suffered from a traumatic event (s)
 

I'll start. Yes at 12yrs old I experienced a psychall painful and emotionally charged response to the trama. The emotions at that time were; shame, embarrassment, confusion, anger, disobedience and secretary. Not much longer after the trauma I started to show a lot symptoms associated with childhood trauma. In my case I was behaving in very unusual ways in secret. I reenacted my trauma in order to have control. When I did the trauma to myself I took control from my abuser who held control over me.

Very complex stuff, I get that.
I control my symptoms in a healthy way with healthy living skills. Symptom management its called. It can work.

:truce I just want to note:
Please be mindful of what you share. Aroid triggering trauma in others with your share. :tyou:Witch5::c011:

Thank you for sharing. I was told I was ADHD but actually PTSD would be a better fit for me. Thr trauma and reenactments has gone on for so long. By the grace of God, I have stopped the stumulants and antidepressents to finally accept my feelings. Now 'drinking' is my biggest issue/concern. I feel hopeless with it really.

KTB, I feel like there's always hope as long as I continue to reach out for help, whether it be here on SR or through a program of recovery. There's never a lack of people willing to support and help us through this journey.

Idk, im trying to stay positive today but the depression and disgust with my situation is really getting to me

Where can I go to talk about trauma specifically? I did a search and there isn’t much here. I want to read through specific, in-depth discussions on strategies for coping and healing.

Hi usefulengine :)

We're a peer support group - we mainly deal with substance abuse, but of course trauma and PTSD CPTSD etc is often a part of that.

We can only go so far without triggering some of our members - but general discussion is generally welcomed.

Threads like these are dotted around the forums :)

D

Thanks. I ended up diving into The Body Keeps the Score last night and that was what I wanted. I haven't used forums in years, and I've been so frustrated with Google lately - it's so hard to find things nowadays with how noisy and pointless a lot of the search results are. Part of me wants a shortcut, I think.

I take what you're saying and appreciate it. Cheers!

Took me a long time to admit it. Visiting my private doctor, then a VA Psychologist and talking it out, and then finally allowing the follow-up Psychiatrist to prescribe medication helped me get better. The military can be roiling hive of machismo, where seeking mental health care is seen as weakness.

The violence human beings will do to other human beings is horrific. I don't want to trigger anyone's PTSD, so no details. But know there is no shame in seeking help in processing your thoughts, emotions, and out of control fight or flight anxiety.

All of my problems finally caught up to me mentally about the time I turned 50. I asked my Psychologist why has all this come home to roost now from violence that occurred in my teens and early 20's. She explained that the young human brain often cannot fully process events until years, and even decades later, when triggered by other events.

Mine was triggered by a work situation - my adrenalin would pump so hard it was all I could do to control myself from verbally and physically confronting my antagonist. One day I walked out of work because I'd had all I could stand. I went straight to my doctor and emotionally lost it in the exam room. It helped unloading the anger and tears - yes, tears from this former Marine. Thus began my mental health recovery.

Please seek help if you need it - you don't have to hold it all in and suffer alone.

I know there are ex military and others who’ve gone through a lot more than me, but having been in a domestic violence situation, I had repeated trauma for the duration of the relationship. He was scary and aggressive and I was constantly on guard (and scared).

First - welcome to SR! :)

Don't discount and compare your trauma - only you know what you went through. We each cope with our own realities. I said the same thing to my Psychologist about people who have gone through worse than me, and I expressed some guilt for feeling as I do by comparison. She shut that thinking right down - we all have the right to live our lives without abuse from others. We also have the right to seek help and heal.

I'm glad you're here enaiddes. Thank you for posting.

The last year or so stirred up PTSD from 20 years ago. Things that I thought that I had moved past. I have trauma prior to that, also. I did not expect to feel the way that I do since I became ill earlier this year. I think the connection is in how I feel, and how I felt, then.

Sending support to everyone.

The trauma in my life at this point feels safely put behind me except of course for the latest one. I tend to deal with this latest one by blocking it out which I think is probably not healthy but I cant help it.

Abuse is a trauma no question and I believe it does things to our psyche that we’re not even aware of.

Yes - to suffering trauma.

Part of my journey in getting to a better place in recent years has been seriously concentrating on the healing process, trusting in God, having hope, and staying on task (that phrase "staying on task" is one which my son's teachers used ad nauseam back when he was an elementary school student, and I have since adopted it and applied it to myself -- after all, like mother, like son).

I am more than fortunate to have landed an adept and very helpful counselor, having researched ahead to find someone who uses CBT as one strategy for her clients.

Best of luck to all who have shared here in this thread. There is hope.

Yes, I was raped in my apt in the fall of 1978. I couldn't leave the house cause my two yr old daughter was sleeping down the hall. It was quite traumatic. I saw a counselor for a while to process it. Even now, 43 yrs later, I still get an uneasy feeling when T giving is coming up because it happened the day before T giving.

Least... :hug:

My hugs to Least as well. I hope and pray for healing for you.

Victims of sexual violation have permanent scars; truly, it is a very personal and very difficult journey for those innocents, sometimes being children, who are violated by predators.

Oh Least...:hug: Gentle hugs.
I absolutely believe in therapy and seeing a psychiatrist if you may need to be on meds. Most of us, in some way or another have been traumatized severely. Sometimes it has to do with the addiction, sometimes not. Screen your therapists, keep going to AA, if that's what you do and please try out therapy. It may take a time of two to find the right one. I've had the same one for 8 years, but I also know what I was looking for. I recommend it, imo, but it may not be for everyone.
Least, I won't go into this hear, but as I said, you have my heart and always have. :love:

Yes, I was in a car accident at 9 years old and had a mild traumatic brain injury.

That is good and sound advice from Aly.

Also, and specifically about finding a therapist -- If one has the resources available, by all means, start the search to find someone who specializes specifically in what would be a good fit for you.

Finding the "right type of therapy" has made a world of difference for me; though, I know there has to be continued commitment and effort coming from both sides.

My experience with trauma as it related to addiction and how I freed myself.
 

Hi, I used to have multiple addictions, which I discover some authorities believe to be related to child abuse, and myself looking for something that was not provided to me. My former addiction was a response to abuse, and was me seeking a solution to the abuse, finding the feeling that love gives, and I never got. I had things done to me, and other things were not provided to me.
I was very fortunate that I found myself an analyst, and she subsequently referred me to a clinical psychologist. I also studied online work of Dr. Schmidt (DNMS), and Dr. Jack Kornfield (healing temple). I actually went to rehab, around 17 years ago, and although I was admitted to a top rehab center, for three months, rehab just continued on with the abuse and bullying, and although that rehab also had a trauma program, they did not provide me any access to it. So they sent me home, and as long as my urine drug screen was negative, I was considered "cured", except I wasn't. The enforced abstinence was just a bandaid, a bandaid for the rehab "doctors", but my addictions still continued on in full force, and with no abatement what so ever at all.
With the passage of time, and sometimes when I was off work, some friends would invite me to their place to study the Word, to which I have no objection, besides being off work I had plenty of time. To prepare myself for a dinner invite, I opened google, and it showed up: John 15:7 I thought that was pretty good, so I made my requests: 1. remove the sorrow from my heart and replace it with your love and joy 2. remove my fear from outwardly expressing your inner presence in me 3. remove my anguish and comfort me with your presence.
Of course the hosts had no clue what that meant.
The next day, I called my friend, and told her the prayer. I had figured out she was not judgemental, so I could tell her anything, and although she was on LTD, I didn't know from what, but I had a feeling she knew something about psychology. As soon as I told her the prayer, she knew what it was about: child abuse. I'm a child abuse victim. she called my wife to ask permission, since she knew it would mean being on the phone hours at a time, several times per week, for months on end. my wife said yes. then she called back and said it was ok for her to work with me.
She hadn't heard the term "reparenting", but that's what she did: "reparenting".
we made a lot of progress, but then she hit a brick wall and referred me to clinical psychology. My psychologist said I was the most traumatized person she had ever met.
With COVID, psychologist had to close up for a while, but I didn't want to stop my therapy, so I went online and found out about DNMS and Healing Temple.
After 6 months of psychologist, twice/week, I went back to my friend, and told her about Healing Temple, so she started doing healing temple work with me.
My latest session, my analyst (without knowing anything about DNMS either), actually did DNMS therapy, following her healing temple session with me.
I shared my work online in another forum, and a user there simply sent John 14 16:17
So I used to have PTSD, I used to have addiction, my mental health has been treated properly, and as a natural process, I feel zero towards anything to do with addictions.
I do not require any urine screens or any "nanny" looking over me. I refer to my analyst as "mother in Christ", and "big sister in Christ".
Trauma and child abuse is the genesis of addiction. To treat an illness, you look at the root cause, and treat the root cause. My healers are JC, and in Healing Temple,
JC places gifts on the healing altar for me, the exact gifts I need to heal myself with.
Ages ago, I did attend 12 step, to keep the authorities satisfied, for me it was a bandaid for the "doctors" and the "authorities".
The real authority is JC or Buddha, the real doctor is you. It was just by some random chance I found my analyst, I actually did not knew she did that, and
I have a close friend who is an expert medical subspecialist, and when I told her about the work my "analyst" was doing with me, and that I felt as if I was
going for a consult to Mayo clinic, my medical friend shook her head: "no one does that kind of work anymore".
All of the above is true, and my experience is exactly as described by the brilliant physician Dr. Gabor Mate. Everything Dr. Mate describes in his online podcast/interview,
is exactly myself, right to a t, and I suspect it is also exactly a great deal of other people, right to a t, but they just never knew, because "no one does this kind of work anymore",
and besides that kind of work is $$$$. My friend charges me not one red cent, all the work is through JC, and JC does all work for free. My friend is pretty poverty stricken, LTD
doesn't pay much, so I buy food for her when I do my shopping, I buy her vitamin supplements for her, omega-3 etc., sometimes I bring over home made yoghurt with steel cut
oats for her, these are my temple offerings, my friend always offers to pay, I just shake my head no, these are temple offerings.
/klinko16

Welcome, klinko, and thank you for sharing that with us. I'm glad you're here on your recovery journey.

:welcome to SR klinko16.

Thank you for your share. DNMS therapy is new to me. I'll read up on it more.