When you have PTSD, you don't have a choice

Triggers, flooding thoughts, exposure therapy, and radical acceptance become your new routine.

👋Hi. My name is Barbara and I am a PTSD & TBI Survivor.

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Sending my kids off for their first encampment forced me to remember why it took 8 1/2 years to leave them for more than a few hours.

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I never wanted to be forced to leave either one of them the first time, and choosing whether to go home and sleep with your family or stay in a hospital, is a choice nobody should ever have to make.

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On the other hand, not being given a choice is also difficult. Being forced to leave your baby every single night... Not knowing if she will be alive the next time you see her. It literally breaks your heart into pieces.

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And there were times I had to leave them both at the hospital. Times I couldn't be in both places at once. And times I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Some people can move through their traumas easier than others. Having a TBI makes it even harder. And it's not just the military who suffer. Medical mamas are silent sufferers.

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Last night when I got home and realized the house was quiet. That's when all of this hit me. That's when it became clear as day. I've tried to deny it but it's true.

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Learn more about our story at www.ScarletsKids.org

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