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To sum it up simply, I started having an interest in starting therapy again at the start of this year because my life is the same shit it has always been. You can read Part 1 of this post first, if you haven’t already. It explains what is going on in my life that lead me to start to seek treatment for my PTSD again.


From Part 1:

“I had realized that I wanted more from life. And MY life wasn’t going to get any better until I could really put the past behind me, and start living MY life without all my daily burdens. I’m sick of beating myself up every day for something I haven’t healed from, and didn’t even really know how to as demonstrated from all the past posts on this blog.

And that is when the bell rung for me – I didn’t KNOW HOW to heal. With that realization I decided I needed to give therapy another chance, from a completely different perspective.”

Prisoner by Insan3-Z0mbie

Prisoner by Insan3-Z0mbie

With this realization I again started to read The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook Outline. First I re-read “Part 1 – About PTSD” to re-familiarize myself with all of the concepts and ideas that I may have forgotten. I actually find reading this part really depressing – it outlines all the symptoms and different ways that PTSD affects people’s lives and I feel like I am greatly affected — and totally screwed/cursed every time I read this part and am reminded of all of my “bewildering symptoms”.

Next I read “Part 2 – About Healing, Recovery, Growth”, which I had only skimmed before. It describes what healing from PTSD might look like in a more conceptualized manner and briefly covers different treatment approaches. I found these two chapters very useful, but also not very thorough. This section DOES NOT talk about specific treatment options such as cognitive behavioral therapy or prolonged exposure therapy.

However, the simplicity of this section gave me a clarity on the topic of treatment I had never experienced or recognized before. As far as I am aware, there are only FOUR treatment options for those with PTSD and similar ailments:

  • Psychotherapy
  • Medication (only lessens symptoms, not a cure)
  • Survivor Groups
  • Self Managed Treatment

That IS IT. It’s that simple, no need to ever over-complicate the process again. Choose your option(s), figure out how to find good service providers, make a plan and stick to it. If any part of your treatment isn’t working, re-evaluate it, make a plan and stick to it.

This is what I decided to do for myself. This is my brain, my health, my LIFE.


In the next post, Why I Started Therapy AGAIN – Part 3, I will explain why I want to heal from my past. A very simple list to remind myself why I am starting this process, and why I want to finish it.

My Monster Has A Name… actually many. This blog is a safe place for me to share my healing journey from childhood abuse. The topics covered are at times controversial, offensive, horrific, and hopefully sometimes inspiring. Thank you for sharing in my journey.