Hi I am new & feeling vunerable

Hi @Awpgirl 🙂 It's nice to 'meet' you. I can see that you've met people here and on the Introduce Yourself Here thread already, and it's great to see you posting and chatting.

Your bucket list is so interesting! I'm way too much of a chicken to do some of those things even though I think I have a bit of an adventurous streak somewhere deep inside me, but I have done the piercing and coloured hair ones.

I noticed on the introduction thread that you said that you were here to meet others who understand the impact of PTSD and depression on feeling part of a community. There are of lots around who will be able to relate to this. I have PTSD and depression also and for me, the events that have contributed to my PTSD took me from my community, but the impact of those events (the lingering mental health stuff) can make it really hard to be of a community again. Sometimes it is as if my insides are screaming at me not to connect with people (for lots of reasons), and sometimes when I do push through that I can feel as if it isn't worth it (again for lots of reasons) anyway. It's a fight. Being here as part of the forum community has helped me to begin to trust people again. I've felt the good that comes with being part of something/somewhere through being here and I'm trying to take those feelings beyond here more. It's a work in progress.

Looking forward to seeing you around and I hope you find the forum helpful for you.

@CheerBear PTSD has taken everything from me apart from my two sons who have stood by me.
Part of my PTSD is aggrophobia and I suffer massive social anxiety. Whilst PTSD prevented me from being part of the community. Or life even; the depression if that lack of connection with the outside world causes a huge depression in me.
Before I became very ill pre2014 I was an outgoing life of the party person. I was active in lots of online communities.
It has only been in the last tenish months that I have had community support who basically helped me set goals to get out ofy house.
My son's helped me so much. They said if I went for a walk every day for one month they would get me an Xbox. Each day they would put a check mark when I left the house and then they helped me go to a shopping centre to buyy Xbox.

Now ten months on most days I am able to go the shops and out for a walk on my own.
So lovely to meet you and yet I'm broken hearted that so many others are experiencing life as I am.

Pleasure to meet you @frog . I try my best to maintain a positive attitude I don't always succeed in that goal. At the moment I am quite depressed and am finding myself heading towards that downward spiral of pessimism , self loathing, loneliness and negativity.
Its one of the reasons I joined this forum. I feel like I'm longer exist in the world andevery moment by myself feels like torture.
When I allow myself to give energy to mynegative spiral I go all sorts of awful things and usually wake up in hospital and get stuck there for weeks.
I used to play alot of computer games and am feel almost the same sense of community with online groups as I do with physical groups.
I guess this is my hope. That I'll alleviate loneliness and maybe help others too.
As I said. Great to meet you.

Hi @Awpgirl. Living with this stuff can be like a nasty cycle where things feed into each other, I find. All these things can create isolation and lack of connection which makes it even harder to get up and push through it, making it all worse... etc. Very hard.

Huge congratulations on setting yourself those goals and meeting them, and in such a cool way too. That would have taken some serious determination! Your sons sound like great supports for you. I have kids also, who have been my constant. I'm guessing yours might be a little older than mine if they got you an Xbox. I have also used video games as a distraction and a get through it thing, and as a way of connecting with others too. Mine tend to be pretty cutsie ones though and from the little I have read, I am guessing that yours may not be. Big thumbs up for whatever it is that works for you!

It's really great to see you here 🙂 Please ask if there's anything we can do to help you find your way around.