well Ive made it through another day. You would think that with having ptsd for so many years I would be use to this but I'm not. These past 2 days have been really hard. This is the first time that its been triggered when I'm not using drugs or alcohol, and I am not running of to the hospital to get locked up. I have finally realized that the hospitals don't have a clue what I need when I'm going through this. I dont need to be told thats all in the past why are you living in the past. They just don't understand that I'm not living in the past. The past is living in the here and now. I am totally happy with my life in the here and now, till the past comes here to haunt me. I did want to have a cigerette alot today, but I didn't. Its been 5 and a half weeks since I smoked. I also didn't get to work for the second day in a row. Not a good time for a store manager to miss work. Feeling really guity about the stress I'm causing others. Called my boss this morning to tell him I wasn't going to make it, I was crying and having anziety attack. Found out his mother died on saturday. God I felt really bad, here I'm crying about stuff from 40 years ago and he's dealing with that. Also worried about the stress I'm causing my staff. Hoping I can get to work tomorrow.

Good job staying away from your negative coping skills. What got you through the day? I ask this because you did not revert to your negative coping skills...so the coping skills you used are POSTIVE ones.

Remember, especially during difficult times, not to compare your pain with someone else's. Your boss is going through a difficult time right now, but that does not negate your pain in anyway. The two are incomparable...and you are the one who has to make it through your day. It is easy to try to minimize our PTSD pain when others around us are in pain....but you can stay stuck in that cycle forever.

What is best for you right now? How can you continue to make it through each day?

You've done it this far just a bit to go
keep it up girl
but i'm not to say that then it sound s like chick movie

Well done Holly! Cigarettes, drugs and alcohol were what I used to get through life, but I feel much stronger without them. Well, I do have one drink a day. We all have negative coping skills, but my hope is with practice we can learn positive coping skills.

The only thing we can do on the bad days is take one step at a time.

vst