Hi Lea!

I think these are some big issues prevalent within society. For a long time society has been inherently abusive. Women used to be possessions and denied the opportunity to vote. Slavery existed for a long time and physical abuse was widely accepted. We are all feeling the effects of centuries of abuse. Fortunately there have been some positive changes.

My story is that I was abused as a child. I got therapy, left home, went to college and got my first couple of jobs. As you know in university I was assaulted by another student. My ptsd kicked off and I shut myself away from the world.

I waited for therapy for 2 years. I tried and on the first day my therapist asked me to write about the assault as homework so I quit. After waiting another 2 years I was reassigned to the same therapist. I decided to give her another chance and she was extremely helpful. She apologised for pushing me too quickly too soon. I had schema therapy and prolonged exposure therapy under her care and withdrew from the anxiety medication because it was interfering with therapy.

Then I developed health issues. I was so ill that I couldn’t walk for 6 months. It has been painful and challenging slowly making progress to regain strength and stamina.

At the same time, I had to relearn how to function emotionally because I had been on some strong medication for 6 years. Without it I didn’t know how to relax. Needless to say, I had a breakdown.

Slowly, I started learning to better manage my health and anxiety. Adapting to my new lifestyle.

I met my future husband. I started volunteering to develop skills at jobs that would help me work with health issues. I started doing easy distance learning courses to build my confidence. Now I’m doing a bachelors remotely.

You’re right. These things do affect our lives for a long time. I’m not going to lie. For a time I did compare my life to people my own age. But perhaps it’s more appropriate to compare my life to people who have had similar struggles. For me, that helped me to be less self-critical, develop patience and empathy for myself.