Burnout

Another day of battling symptoms and burnout. You always feel run down. But I am doing the right things in general to protect myself. I just have to realize that traumatic energy can affect you on a cellular and genetic level.

Constant exhaustion.

Sorry to Be Away

Sorry to be away for a few days. It's been a real struggle to not dissociate. Had a dissociative relapse and it's a struggle to know what's real and what isn't. You scream and fight to not black out. You have to fight back.

You have to protect yourself. Don't let your guard down so that you'll slip. Burnout never goes away. But you have to protect yourself.

Face Your Pain

The pain is always there. You do your best to set boundaries and to protect your well being. But the pain never goes away.

If you don't have it and let your guard down, a triggering thing could literally kill you. I have no desire to off myself. But it's important to face this head on.

Screen everything. Your health is both physical and mental. You can't just sit back and do nothing. You scream and fight to not black out.

At the end of the day, you're too wiped out to do anything. But you have to face your pain.

Protect yourself.

Balance

You try to not go to sleep being wired from watching too much TV. No late night snacks, caffeine or sugar rushes or dissociating. Despite that the nightmares still happen. There's never a set pattern to them. But at times you suddenly open your eyes and wonder. Am I dissociating? What's real and what isn't?

When was the last time I got a good night's sleep? I can't remember. Usually you try to fall asleep and then wake up every hour. Then by 3 or 4 a.m., you might get one hour of sleep. Many times no. Which means you might go for two or three days before you just collapse from exhaustion. This puts more stress on you for salt and sugar to help stimulate your system. When in fact it does just the opposite.

Is there a cure for PTSD? No there isn't. It's like having any other incurable health problem in the sense of you do your best. But the pain is always there. Triggering things are always there. Let your guard down for a second at the wrong time and some people kill themselves. Why? There's a difference between logically saying suicide is bad and wanting to instantly end pain. I would never do that. But at times though you feel like you're one step short of that.

What's the answer? One thing is to face your trauma history head on as best you can. Denial used to be a massive problem. I still have bad days with it. But now I can admit that I'm a rape survivor, and that I did nothing wrong. But the pain is always there.

Some days I just want quiet. No noise. No being bombarded with pain. No having to feel like it's my responsibility to get rid of Trump and save the world. Actually it's not. I have my avenues online to speak out. Occasionally, something else opens up in media. In the past I would almost always say yes to potential interviews. Now almost always I say no. UNLESS everything about it is positive and it could help somebody. While I'm not a nationally or internationally known name, I have worked in various parts of media (both on air and behind the scenes). So I understand how people can be manipulated for the sake of ratings. I mean, we ARE running a business here.

Why do people say and do horrible things? I'm not sure. But I do know that nobody forces them to do that. Which means they deal with the consequences of their behavior. There's a long history of horrible abuse in my "immediate" family. Someday when the parents die, if I feel confused and a sense of relief along with sadness am I bad person? I asked my psychiatrist once about this. Her response was no. There's no law that says when someone dies you must say and do certain things. Society may dictate certain behaviors. But you don't have to follow those.

How do you deal with your pain and flashbacks? Sometimes when I have moments of clarity I also feel paralyzed. I don't know what to do. Usually I just sit quietly and say I want to feel safe. I want to feel safe in my own home. I don't want to be bombarded with pain.

Protect yourself.

Face Your Trauma History

A holiday here in the States. But, cold and raining as well. Which means lots to catch up on inside. The pain is always there. Try really hard to not dissociate. Don't set yourself up to slip and then literally vanish.

You can't control what horrible people do and say. You can't save the world singlehandedly. But you can set boundaries and try to protect your well being.

You have to fight back. You can't just sit back and do nothing. You have to protect yourself.

Crippling despair still happens. Just face it as best you can and keep going.

Protect yourself.

Nobody Helped Us

Another day of fighting symptoms. We have circulation pain from heart failure. Arthritis. Cirrhosis of the liver.     Complex dissociative disorder. Some days you feel like you have some sense of balance. On others you're one step short of killing yourself.

That's one key to remember. One tiny trigger not dealt with can lead to suicide. It won't in my case. But in that moment of despair there's a difference between acting logically and acting to end pain.

Protect yourself.

Lots of Pain

Today we said time to rest. Slept in and managed to do an easy workout. Pain is still there from lots of sources. Later I'll have to make new doctor appointments. It's like exhaustion is always there, no matter what you do.

Protect your well being.

Appointments and More

Two doctors appointments and a heart test. The good news? My heart function rate (ejection/fraction rate) is holding steady at 45%. Still below normal and my endurance is still down. But also, my back and leg pain is getting better. I can start to move now and have a little less pain. Is it arthritis? Is it trauma body pain memory? I'm not sure.

Pay attention to tiny things in how you feel. In the past, you'd blow it off. Now, no.

Protect yourself.

Chronic Pain

The lower back pain is getting worse. Tomorrow I have 2 doctor appointments. So I'll ask LOTS of questions about this and other problems.

I can walk. But I have to do it slowly.
The slightest shift in weight is painful.
Easy slow stretching is painful.
Now I have pain all thru my hips and all thru my spine.

Is part of it trauma body pain flooding out? I thin it is. But is it something else as well?
I'm not sure. But whatever it is, I don't want to end up with severe pain killer addictions
again.

Hope you're well.

Trying to Focus

fight symptoms all day long. Pain and exhaustion.

Face Your History

As best you can, face your trauma history head on. UNLESS it endangers you in any way. When  we do, there's nothing to hide behind. The pain is always there. You're one step short of killing yourself. You'll never do it. But the despair is there.

You just try to stick with we're not abnormal in any way. Your symptoms are a reflection of your trauma history. We're following the right things.

Protect yourself.

Fight to Not Dissociate

The car accident happened two days ago. Nobody got hurt and now I'm driving a rental as my car gets fixed. But symptoms are still there.

Being in tight spaces is difficult. Flashbacks happen when you least expect it. Don't dissociate. No matter what.

Protect yourself as best you can.

Trying to Stay Grounded

A long day with symptoms, pain and trying to protect myself. It feels like you have nothing to hide behind. But that's a good thing.

No matter what, don't dissociate. Protect yourself.

Face Your Trauma History Head On

Another day of battling symptoms and feeling like you're on the edge of something really horrible. You won't hurt yourself or anyone else. But you have nothing to hide behind.

Ever heard of Romeo Dallaire? He was a Canadian Army Colonel who was in command off the UN contingent in Rwanda when their massacre happened. Since then, he tried to kill himself four times and was diagnosed with horribly severe PTSD. Now with treatment he's relatively stable. But the symptoms will always be there.

There is no cure for PTSD. Triggers are everywhere and can happen at any time. You many not have any desire to hurt yourself or someone else. Then, that can change in a split second.

You know you're not a monster. You know it's not your fault. But that pain will always be there.

How do you cope? Try to face it head on, unless it endangers you in some way. Like all PTSD patients, I struggle with really horrible stuff every day. I know it's not my fault. But the pain will always be there.

You don't want to hurt anybody. You just want to feel safe.

Listen to Tiny Things

Fight symptoms and don't set yourself up to dissociate and black out. We can never get any real sleep at night. This means struggling during the night and then staying in bed till we can focus and finally get into the day.

You're constantly fighting exhaustion. You're also can't sit back and do nothing. At times, you feel like you're detoxifing and can barely move.

You just want to feel safe.

Detoxifing? Or Something Else?

We're really trying hard to stay away from salt and sugar as much as possible. You can't go 100 percent organic. But you do your best.

That being said, I never get very much sleep these days. This means always feeling run down during the day. Trying to keep the diet healthy helps to a certain degree in dealing with PTSD symptoms. But they're still there.

Set boundaries and try to protect yourself. At times I have no TV days. Sometimes, just no noise. I've thought about trying to go to some retreat somewhere. What about moving to one and being able to walk on the beach or go run? Sometimes I just sit and try to focus my chi. But it's always a battle.

Protect yourself.

Protect Yourself

Fight symptoms all day long. Stay away from salt and sugar as much as possible. Pay attention to small things in how you feel. Set boundaries and if necessary, turn everything off.

I know it's not my fault. But you still feel paralyzed. Does this ever go away? No. Then again, I'm doing the right things to protect my well being.

Don't dissociate. Do something else. Protect yourself.