Laura, The Pen Pusher's Weblog

I’m a 59 year old woman, learning to enjoy my life! I’m an avid reader and a writer who enjoys the research as much as any project itself.

I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in 2005 (from traumatic incidents in childhood) after a frightening experience involving memory loss. Subsequently I spent 6 months in therapy. I’m just one of many people who suffer from what has been called the “invisible illness.” You can’t look at someone and know they have PTSD; there are no outward signs, no crutch or wheelchair, no visible scars or bruises and the sufferer doesn’t have to be wearing a military uniform. But let me say, the affects of the PTSD can be just as paralyzing, just as debilitating as any illness around. Being diagnosed, while distressing in itself, was the best thing to happen to me. I was able to make sense of chunks of time missing because of dissociative disorder. It explained the uncontrollable bouts I had with depression and/or rage. Knowing what was happening and why, helped me to look for avenues of coping.

While most people equate the illness with military service and war, the Gateway for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Information has an ongoing poll for visitors to the site and of those participating in the poll, 70% are looking for information for themselves; 49% link the PTSD to abuse while only 32% attribute the disorder to war experiences. People with PTSD have survived a traumatic event; something happened causing them to fear for their lives or the lives of loved ones, they’ve witnessed horrendous events and felt helpless in the situation. The extreme emotions caused by the trauma create changes in the brain that may result in PTSD. Help is available. For more information on PTSD and symptoms see the links in the sidebar of the post page under PTSD.

In the meantime, I’ll be posting regularly. Feel free to browse my world, good and bad. Any comments you have are welcome and while they don’t post immediately, I see them. And now that I’ve finally figured out how, I’ll answer them within 24 hours. Now all I have to do is learn about trackbacks, pingbacks and customer fields. I’m working on it.

Thank you for stopping by.

Laura