Last week I returned home from a 9 week, residential PTSD program. I never thought that I would go into something like that, but my therapist recommended it and my husband and sister thought it would really help me. I wasn’t so sure.

But I agreed to go just because if there was a CHANCE it would help me, I couldn’t pass it up. I was struggling at work, struggling at home and just plain miserable. My life just consisted of work and home in front of the tv. I avoided spending time with friends. Getting up every day and going to work had become torture for me. I was irritable, exhausted from no sleep and nightmares and I really didn’t know how much longer I could last that way.

During my 9 weeks there, I learned so much about myself. My therapist and I were able to dissect some of my past traumas and they told the whole story of why I was struggling so much! We got to the bottom of things and I learned a new way to deal with some of my persistent “automatic thoughts”.

Am I cured? NO.

Have I learned ways to cope with my PTSD so that it doesn’t control my life? Absolutely!

I’m very thankful for the VA hospital and the people who helped me. Now, it’s up to me.