Jennifer the words you wrote reflect a beautiful soul and a warm heart. Several years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD from being in Iraq 3 times and Afghanistan once. I recall some people telling the same things you said and at the time the advice seemed “nice” but it was difficult for me to embrace, perhaps due to the depth of PTSD. As time went on I made myself more open and available to such advice. Gradually my thoughts became more coherent and focused. I feel like the words you wrote the other day were spoken to me some years back, because since a few years back I have developed the sort of thinking along the lines of what you said. Your words have touched my past in a very powerful way. I no longer suffer from PTSD, but I deal with it using different modalities of coping, i.e. meditation, doing things as you have suggested to others like getting involved with things that I once did and enjoyed, etc. So I want to reach out to the very people that you are trying to reach here, and I will tell them that what you offer is… forgive me for being stuck on finding the right words…what you offer is very powerful and very real. As I progressed in managing the “things” that haunt me or trouble my soul, I found that the more I practice your words, meditation, and mindfulness, it has become so much easier for me to deal with”things.” After what I read of what your post says, I wish for only 2 things: (1) that many people will embrace your advice and discover the power in your words and (2) that the world is blessed with more people like you.

WOW!!! Finally, someone who understands. I want to reach out to you with this…I wish you all the love, peace, and happiness that life has to offer, for an eternity longer than a lifetime. It is the least you deserve. For many years, people trying to reach me with the hope of understanding what I went through, was like me floating in an ocean, no life raft, no life vest, and a ship passing by tossing me a life line, except that life line was too short, and the ship sailed on. Things that trigger my PTSD, the nightmares, the reactions, they are all becoming more and more easier to deal with to the point that I finally KNOW within my heart that someday I will be free of all that. For now they are becoming more of a distant memory, albeit still very much real. Thank you for your support. Unfortunately my gratitude is all I have to give you.