New Member

[California Dreaming]

I am a new member and have never engaged in an online forum. I was diagnosed with CPTSD in 2011. It took me about a year to believe it. I have been working with a therapist weekly for 5 and 1/2 years. I have been in a massively triggered state for the past 2 weeks but finally moved out of it yesterday. I read Pete Walker's book about 2 years ago, and it's been on my mind since yesterday. I did a Google search on CPTSD and found this beautiful website. I gathered the courage to register, so here I am. I am looking forward to the possibility of connecting with others who share the same psychological injury, something that I have not been able to do so far along my journey.

[Blueberry]

Welcome to the forum  Love your avatar! This was my first online forum too. Congratulations on finding courage to join.

Great that you got out of your triggered state!  Lots of us on here have been in therapy and on healing journey for a good long time too (join the club).

I've found this forum a great and supportive place and also very informative from day one. I hope you find it that way too.

[DecimalRocket]

Welcome! 

Pete Walker was the first author I read that wrote about cPTSD, and he didn't disappoint me. Glad you know him.

[avamolly]

I discovered this website a couple of years ago and through it finally found out about Pete Walker's book about this time last year, wondered why I hadn't checked out the Resources section sooner. It was a revelation to me, explained why I had had so many mental health difficulties throughout my life and also allowed me to be kinder to myself rather than berate myself when I wasn't coping well with everyday life. I dipped back into therapy after finding out about Cptsd and decided to go low contact with UnNM to give myself a break which in turn allowed me to be calmer and more present in the now, mindfulness and meditation has also helped enormously. So I really feel that this website has helped to change my life, and it continues to help when I occasionally feel fragile, it's so good to really be heard and not to feel totally alone with it all.

[EmilyNobody]

I'm also new to resources in this diagnosis. Five months ago, I finally went back to therapy after ten years and actually found someone I trusted enough to actually talk to (for anyone else my childhood was "fine, I guess."). She told me about CPTSD, and I read Van Der Kolk's  The Body Keeps the Score, and suddenly I understood myself, understood the way seemingly all my personal traits were trauma reactions. It took a while before I could see any aspect of self as separate from trauma. I'm still working on that. Then found Pete Walker's online info, including 13 things to do in an EF. This has helped tremendously--sometimes now I can stop the rushing darkness/panic before I lose myself in it. I'm working on this day by day, moment by moment. I'm glad for this community of support.