post traumatic stress disorder
'I was really ill. I just couldn’t do it any more.'
'There’s a lot of shame attached to mental illness, you feel like something’s wrong with you.'
She revealed she has bipolar disorder and has suffered from PTSD.
'It made me feel a lot calmer.'
'Secrets keep you sick with shame.'
'Flashbacks are not mere memories.'
"He/she is difficult to engage." It's a term that I have often heard used by psychiatric staff when talking about patients. I was described as "difficult to engage" when I was under mental health services and now that I run a Suicide Crisis Centre, I frequently hear the same phrase used by psychiatric staff who signpost to us.
What if Valentine's Day, or relationships in general, were a stark reminder of the most painful and distressing events that you ever experienced? What if they triggered a trauma so terrifically challenging that it forever altered your approach to life? Welcome to Valentine's Day, and relationships, for adoptees.