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| | Notices | Welcome to PTSD Forum. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a life threatening, debilitating disorder that can break down a sufferer’s body through anxiety and stress. Further it poses a significant suicide risk resulting from the brains neurological imbalance and chemical depression. Sufferers often live in denial, thus this community is aimed at helping PTSD sufferers help themselves through others experiences, guidance and education. We are here for the sufferer, spouse and families surrounding PTSD. Spouses and family are too often forgotten in this equation, and often they receive all the worst that PTSD has to offer. If you're involved in any way with PTSD, get registered and help yourself now. Non-active members will eventually be deleted. If you are not a sufferer, carer or someone within the mental health industry, and active, then there is little reason for you to be a member of this forum. Non-active members with zero posts are deleted periodically during the year. |  | 
11-01-2008, 01:31 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Suburbs of Washington, DC
Posts: 47
| |  New Here - PTSD From Violent Crime
Hello! I am glad I found this forum. It is reassuring to not feel like the only one. My name is Mary and I live in the 'burbs of DC. I am a mom to one and work as a nanny. I have a partner, who seems to be doing her very best to understand all of this.
I was recently diagnosed with PTSD from an incident when I was 12. I awoke to find a strange man in my bed who attacked me. I remember most of it in disturbing detail and some of it I can't remember at all. I really thought he was going to kill me. Even worse, I feared he had already killed my sister. No one died, but here I sit almost 20 years later with the same crippling fears and stress that I had back then. Some aspects are better (no more rituals!) and some are worse, like the guilt and fear of dying. I recently started therapy after years and years of waiting to "get over it".
Thanks for listening
Mary |
11-01-2008, 11:58 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: dover,de
Posts: 237
| |
I'm glad you found the forum. Holly. |
12-01-2008, 12:50 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 125
| |
Welcome to the forum Mary!
I also waited decades to "get over it". There is lots of good information here. I hope you find the help you need. |
12-01-2008, 05:32 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ma
Posts: 2,828
| |
Hi Mary,
A lot of us "Wait to get over it." Then we find out we can't. I am glad that you have found the forum too. It's a great place with tons of help and hope. |
12-01-2008, 09:27 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Earth (most of the time)
Posts: 766
| |
Hi Mary, Welcome to the forum. I hope you find all of the help you need here.
Tammy |
13-01-2008, 01:04 PM
|  | Administrative Editor PTSD | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 7,351
| |
Hi Mary, welcome to the forum. So what aspects don't you remember? You say a stranger... how did this stranger get in your bed to begin with? |
13-01-2008, 02:15 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Suburbs of Washington, DC
Posts: 47
| |
The memory seems to have a blank space. It is hard to explain. I tried to explain it in another thread in PTSD chat. I remember every little detail to a point and then nothing until I am yelling and he is running out of my room.
It appears as though he broke in through the back door of our house and found my bedroom. I didn't wake up until he was already in my bed. Afterwards, I was able to think back and piece together some strange things that happened. There was someone I remember seeing for several days in a row just sitting in his car. Someone was also in the house earlier in the week. I remember my father calling and reporting the first break-in to the police. I can't say with certainty, but I think he was there to look around. |
13-01-2008, 02:25 PM
| | Administrative Editor PTSD | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 7,351
| |
Mary, that is a good start atleast. A good way to help yourself is write down your events in a story, then read it. You read it over and over and typically you will remember pieces. You then rewrite the entire thing adding the remember pieces, and repeat the process over and over until you have the entire story. By rereading it each time over and over it triggers your brain to remember, to release more aspects little by little until you have a full story. |
14-01-2008, 08:47 AM
| | Moderated Member | | Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2
| |
Mary, I took a long time to start talking about the things that happened in my childhood. I felt ashamed and dirty. Now I know that that is not true. My foster father also used to come into my room. The social worker kept telling me that eventually I had found a safe home. Therefore I was angry with my family as well as with the system. I am glad you have had the courage to enter this forum. |
18-01-2008, 12:32 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: T. Bay, Ontario Canada
Posts: 3,209
| |
Welcome to the forum!
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