Gift From Within Guestbook Archives - 2004

I loved your site, and I'm sure that it'll bless the life of many others people like it did for me.

You're website looks very good, it was a pleasure to be on you're. Keep on the good work :-)

I recently found out that I suffer from PTSD. It has been interesting to look back on my life and the way it has affected me. I always knew that something was wrong with me. I knew that other people didn't react the same way that I have reacted to things. I knew that I would be okay because God was watching over me. I am a strong Christian and it has helped me. I am seeing a therapist that is really helping me and is the one who told me about the PTSD. Thank you for the good stories and such.

I was searching google to find out about Oppostitional Defiant Disorder and it led me to a website that connected me to this one.

My husband has ptsd. My kids and I need emotional support. The VA offers couseling and free medical to my husband, but what about my children and I ? I'm sure we have ptsd too after living with my spouse for the past four years. This is so frustrating! I'm very hapy to have found your website. Now I dont feel so alone.

I found the story from PattiB to be helpful. I have also been diagnosed with Chorinc/Complex PTSD. Her life almost sound just like mine. I am looking for help and hope I can overcome this just like her.

I TOOK A WALK AFTER WORK AND 5 HOUSES AWAY FROM MY OWN I WAS HIT BY A VEHICLE MOVING 45 MP. THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN . AND NOTHING IS GETTING BETTER.

I found your site to be very helpful in information. My spouse suffers from PTSD and it is becomming more and more of an issue and I am pulling out hair...so your website offered much insight...Thank you

Thanks for letting me come back, I become a little less ignorant with each visit. There is so much good here, I just don't like to admit that it is useful to me. Thanks Again

Thank you for letting me visit your site

seem to have symptoms of bipolar diorder however i have been diagnoised with complex ptsd.is anyone else experiencing these same dual symptoms?

I have lived with PTSD for awhile now. My life is better and continues to improve daily. I hope some day I too can share my story and help others in their recovery.

Glad I stopped by. Your site will help me and many of my friends. Shalom

Excerpt is excellent.Has potential to help if you are willing.

Thank ou so much for this site. As a former sufferer of PTSD, I've started teaching process painting workshops. Art is a geat healing resource, just as your site is!

Gift from within has been a real gift for me. A site that supplies both information about PTSD and emotional support thru penpals is amazing. In only a few months I have much about myself and PTSD. Thanks GFW.

Contact me please. I still need help.

I came here after Joyce left a message on Wings To Fly. I wanted to check out the work she is doing. I have also set up a PTSD website but I turned that over to someone I trust who has much more knowledge in the area of PTSD outside of sexual abuse and sexual assult.

I think that it is very important to share our survivor stories so that others can see there is a way. I am a survivor of childhood incest and years of suicid attempts. I only wish that there would have been this kind of information back in the 70's.

Way to go Joyce. I love when people follow their hearts and hear their calling. You are truly blessed in this way.

Thank you.

I was told years ago that I suffer from PTSD due to seeing my best friend hit by a drunk driver.I suffered only abrasions and cuts to my limbs and face. My alcoholic father always told me to my face that I should have been the one to die(Dottie was 12yrs. old and I was 10.)not Dottie. I just wonder if all the time. If I had died the world would be a better place. I have No self esteem and often wonder Why am I here? My father has since told me he was sorry but he is now deceased and I still feel the same. Why! Why did I live? Please reply to this letter. I do have a appointment with a therapist this coming Monday and feel it would be helpful to have a response from someone like you. Thank You for this site and any advice you may give.

I was told years ago that I suffer from PTSD due to seeing my best friend hit by a drunk driver.I suffered only abrasions and cuts to my limbs and face. My alcoholic father always told me to my face that I should have been the one to die(Dottie was 12yrs. old and I was 10.)not Dottie. I just wonder if all the time. If I had died the world would be a better place. I have No self esteem and often wonder Why am I here? My father has since told me he was sorry but he is now deceased and I still feel the same. Why! Why did I live? Please reply to this letter. I do have a appointment with a therapist this coming Monday and feel it would be helpful to have a response from someone like you. Thank You for this site and any advice you may give.

I was told years ago that I suffer from PTSD due to seeing my best friend hit by a drunk driver.I suffered only abrasions and cuts to my limbs and face. My alcoholic father always told me to my face that I should have been the one to die(Dottie was 12yrs. old and I was 10.)not Dottie. I just wonder if all the time. If I had died the world would be a better place. I have No self esteem and often wonder Why am I here? My father has since told me he was sorry but he is now deceased and I still feel the same. Why! Why did I live? Please reply to this letter. I do have a appointment with a therapist this coming Monday and feel it would be helpful to have a response from someone like you. Thank You for this site and any advice you may give.

I was told years ago that I suffer from PTSD due to seeing my best friend hit by a drunk driver.I suffered only abrasions and cuts to my limbs and face. My alcoholic father always told me to my face that I should have been the one to die(Dottie was 12yrs. old and I was 10.)not Dottie. I just wonder if all the time. If I had died the world would be a better place. I have No self esteem and often wonder Why am I here? My father has since told me he was sorry but he is now deceased and I still feel the same. Why! Why did I live? Please reply to this letter. I do have a appointment with a therapist this coming Monday and feel it would be helpful to have a response from someone like you. Thank You for this site and any advice you may give.

Date: 12/7/04
Name: D
Subject: PTSD

E-mail: naturetrader@aol.com
How found: ptsd website link

Lots of hurt still. Hard to digest. Found help, trying to make my life work for me. This site has shown me I am not alone. Thank You. Be well.

UK Firefighter 21 years loyal service

Being treated for PTSD by a wonderfull lady at Royal Hospital Haslar, Gosport, Hampshire, UK.

Too many suffer in silence, too many suffer without even realising they have PTSD..

Asked for help, was ignored.

I was a victim of violence. My ex-husband is in prison for attepted murder. I was 22 years old at the time. I am now 27, and still live with scars. I've been in denial for so long. This is something I ran across and found it interesting.

This summer I was a pedestrian walking up the side of a road, when I was hit from behind by a drunken motorcycle driver doing 60 mph. I experience PTSD as a result, and finding support out there has been most helpful in helping me deal with a number of issues I am facing as a result of the accident. The more support I seek, the more help I get, the better off I will be in the long run, and I am very grateful that I have this website as a resource. Thank you.

I just confronted my family, explaining to them why I can't make the holidays this year.(sexual abuse/PTSD) I'm having a terriable time with this emotionally. This pain won't stop.I really need somone to talk to. I go to therapy but have no contact with anyone outside my home, I hope there's someone who can relate to this and give me some advise.

I appreciate your site and the contents. I am happy to see more caring people. My site is Drug Solutions.

nice site. Check out our site.

just to say to all those suffering from eating disorders and depression, please think before you ever attempt suicide. im recently suffering from both, and in therapy. we need each other to get through this. please email me with ANY issues lots of love.

I appreciate your willingness to help traumatic victims have a place to sound his/her voice.

I am a survivor of sexual assault by a coworker

Can anyoe out there tell me how to start a support group for childrn and dult survivors of sexual abuse? I live in a small town and we have no resourc close by and I hav found there is a great need for one.

Hello- My 20 yr. old daughter has recently been diagnosed with PTSD. She was born with a congential birth defect which resulted in numerous surgeries and ostomies. She also had to endure repeated rectal exams that sometimes involved instruments. Although she is being treated by a psychiatrist and is on medication she REALLY neeeds a support group. Does anyone know of one in the NY metro region? Thank you.

Thanks for making the articles available, and the personal coping strategies are great. I am a medical social worker, and deal with all types of loss, including traumatic and sudden loss.

Wonderful site, keep up the good work

We are a non porfit organization dedicated to supporting the familes of the victim's of 9/11/01. www.voicesofsept11.org

Thanks!!! this is a very hepfull and usefull web in every sense for me not only personally but profesionally too. PLEASE keep on doing it and do not hesitate to ask for my help if you need too.

Best wishes from France !!! Great site, congratulations ! I found the web site very informative and interesting. Lots of good Information here. Keep up the good work.

In 1989, I was thrust into the Las Vegas TV news market with my first full-time career job as News Photographer. It was the station's very first position as an overnight shooter for the brand new morning newscast.

Getting used to "graveyard" was hard enough; but, I quickly realized I was in my own "Viet-Nam" seeing horrific images - close-up and first-hand - of murders, suicides, live action drug busts with gunfire, DUI car crashes, ... the list goes on. I was caught in the balance between professional ethics, doing my job, and sympathy for the grieving family members standing over their loved one while you are shooting their reaction. When I accepted the job, the station had not yet thought of the perils and after-effects for the position with regard to PTSD.

Gathering this type of news is referred to as "run-n-gun" or "flash-n-trash". And what was my reward for my dangerous hard work and exposure? $7.56 per hour plus benefits. So, I am now, after 15 years, looking for answers, help, and therapy dealing with all the guilt, anxiety, and unforgotten images burned into my mind at age 23.

What do other photogs do to deal with these experiences? Are there any other photogs who can relate?

I stumbled across your site surfing the web to find information and guideance about dealing with PTSD.Your video's offered a sense of hope, your postings offered a sense of I am not alone, your music helped to lift a tired and hurting soul. I can not thankyou enough. In addition to the PTSD info I am grateful for the compassion fatigue information. As a paramedic my life seems to have become a blend of both

I was just looking for info on my PTSD and I found your site. I would like to join but am not sure how I go about this.

Thanks,

Lou Spina

MY SISTER COMMITED SUICIDE AND I WAS WONDERING IF THERE ARE SUPPORT GROUPS, OR IF I CAN OFFER ANY HELP TO FAMILIES WHO ARE NEW TO THIS TRAGEDY.

Thanks to your website and some others I have found the compassion in my heart to continue to try to help my boyfriend face and work through PTSD. Honestly I was about to give up and ask him to move along. Today I have renewed hope for him and for us. Thank you for the poetry which touched my heart. Sincerly Dianna Rivera

i lost my daughter and i'm stress out totally

i would like to be informed when knew articles come in

I enjoyed visiting with you on the telephone and viewing your site. Looking forward to receiving your video soon.

I was recently "officially" daignosed with PTSD and Severe depression, and I particapated in an intensive 10 day treatment program. I am looking for a support group for the victims of this affliction and their souses, who must live with this everrry day. I have a therapist who I will see for the first time today, but I would like a SUPPORT group for this. It would enefit me and my Husband a great deal, Thank-you, Amber Nagel

Bridges to Recovery specializes in treating traumas and other issues very intensively and with state of the art madalities. View our website

your questionaine was pretty cool. I really want to make a difference in the research and tx of childhood ptsd. I think that it really needs it's own diagnostic criteria and possibly typed on top of that based on the stress. watching your childhood friend die seems a little different than being a victim of violence. Please excuse my ignorance, I'm 100,000 journal articles behind.

i have ptsd and it nice to know that people do care about people with ptsd. thank you. beth dyson

10/28/2004, driving home from work, a woman fell asleep at the wheel and hit me head on going 55 mph. I am now living with several medical problems including a permanant disbility. I am now looking for information and support to get on with my life.

Very nicely done and loads of very interesting and helpful sites.

I came upon this web site through survivors art ring and think I can gain much more knowledge about PTSD than I already know. I write poetry andhave a site of my own as listed above.

Through my research I hope to find information about relationships between incest survivors and their nonperpetrating mothers. The URL of my research website is www.incestresearch.com

looking for information on moving on.

{I AM A DISABLE TRUCK DRIVER}I WAS HIT BY OTHER SEMY TRUCK,THAT CROSS THE MEDIAN IN HIGTH SPEED,AN IMPACT MY FROME CAB AN 2 PEOPLE DEI,AN MY LIVE RUINENT. I have being in a semy truck accident,an my life is painful sens one year an 5 mouth to the precent time,an year to come.my life is totaly diferent,I BING DIANOSTIC,POST TRAUMATIC STRESS AND DEPRESS.I hope this website help me

I think that the information that you give is educational for people who go through with this. Its great that we have you people around. God bless you and Aloha from Hawaii! ~Abikee~

I would like to find any and all information on these and other subjects that I didn't have room to fit.

Thanks This site does contain verry usefull info. i suffer from a panic disorder with extreme agoraphobia [a stress disorder] that i relate to trauma and some physical ailments [like hyper thyroid] This site eventhought I'm familiar with the symptoms and psychology [being a personality psychologist], I found verry informing and helpfull Thanks

how can i help my children and myself?

Thank you so much for your website and friendship. I have gotten some awesome article for my support site from "gifts from within". PTSD is a very tough illness to live with day in and day out for all involved and every bit of help that is given is one more day at peace. Thank you for helping others find peace with their struggles with this monster that they didn't make themselves but was put upon them. Also, our site is out there to help others with the struggle of PTSD. Support For PTSD Helping Families Recover, we would love to support anyone that has or knows of someone with PTSD.

Forever greatful, Kim

NEW DVD/VHS From Gift From Within. Living with PTSD: Lessons for Partners, Friends and Supporters available. $30 plus shipping. Please ask Joyce at joyceb3955@aol.com

You offer a wonderful resource for people looking for information and help in understanding the experience of trauma and PTSD. By grouping a variety of related topics under the general heading of trauma you simplify a complex process and create a useful service. I'm particularly glad to see that you offer survivors an opportunity to share their feelings in art and poetry. You do this with sensitivity by clearly stating that readers should exercise caution because of possible triggering consequences.

My website, Eating Disorder Recovery at Poppink.com focusses on all that is involved in the eating disorder recovery process. Your site offers much that may relate to my readers. I'm glad to provide a link to your site at www.poppink.com

Great site

My daughter was murdered on January 23, 2003 by a so-called friend. She had 3 small children ages 6, 2, and 9 and a half months. They are suffering from ptsd. I am too. This is difficult to try to be there for them and put up with their anger constantly as well as the reminder of their mother everyday. Please help me learn to deal with this at middle age. Anything you can help me with or suggest will be greatly appreciated as we are retired and on a fixed income.

Nice site. Thank you. From the online recovery community

I just wanted to post to let everyone know that I am alive, well and kicking (Especially Cindy Lou & Tina!!). I have been a terrible support pal due to the busyness in our lives-and I apologize! I first learned of Gift From Within several years ago (maybe 9 or 10 years?)-so I go back before GFW was even online! And the people here-Joyce Boaz and all the survivors are truly beautiful people. I am still writing and now also doing my own artwork for a poetry chapbook. I formed a writers' group-locally and online and I've published an article on Senior Abuse. I'm consulting and homeschooling my now almost-14-year-old daughter!! I've been remarried for 6 years and life is pretty okay most days. But, I think about you all. Huggles all around and take precious care of yourselves!!

thank god for this site

Just wanted to sign in.

First time visiting. Believe I suffer from PTSD on some level and wanted to thank you for your site. Want to take this site in one step at a time.

Thanks so much, I'll be back.

Gosh, I can't believe all the wonderful information and support. I heard of PTSD for the first time yesterday after I meet with a counselor for my very first time. I am making my first steps of understanding and seeking help for a childhood molestion that I've hidden for 30 years. Honestly, I'm scared to let it out but I know to have any peace in my mind I must. Thanks for being here.

Your website is a wonderful resource for PTSD. Thank you for your dedication.

We are curious to know if there are any novels known to have been written by alters. If you know anything about it, please let Us know. (If you can get an ISBN for it that would be A++ perfect).

I want to thank you for such a wonderful website. It has been a tremendous help and provides strength and encouragment to me. I suffer from PTSD due to 13 years of physical, emotional and verbal abuse from my ex-husband. After many years of suffering from severe depression and 2 suicide attempts I have finally found the strength to seek out help and am currently in therapy. You have helped me, and I am sure, many others....thank you so much.

This is a grea site. I am going thru a terrible loss & looking for some sort of support. Thanks

Thank you so much. You have saved me thousands of dollars worth of counseling. I am 60 now and, having survived a seriously dysfunctional childhood loaded with trauma, am wanting to get well. I believe this site may have been just the ticket to get me on my road to wellness. I have suffered greatly and had no clue what the culprit was. You have shown me the light.

Carrying around all the guilt & pain associated with PTSD & childhood sexual abuse for 40 years can and does bring the strongest people in the world down if they don't get the help they need. What a beautiful site this is. After three hospitalizations since Oct, 2004 I welcome all the help I can get...and truly appreciate the way all the love is shared. I didn't even realize I had "a problem" until my world came crashing down around me, but now realize fully that we are NOT alone!

Thank you so much. I did not know about PTSD till my daughter was told by two medical doctors. I had an abusive husband for 32 years till I finally left him.

Thank you for this web page it has helped. janice

Thanks for your great site!

thks for info.,i have been out with job related injury since feb 04. live in chronic pain. my wife after 34 yrs wants to end marriage. four grown kids. we put them all trough college. i'm all alone now. i still love her, she prefers life without me. feel i lost all, my family , identity and self-respect. couldnt get any worst. i have tried councilors, doctors and suppot groups. thanks for the information

Hello. Wonderful job you're doing here. Please come visit us & help stop BULLIES & end SCHOOL VIOLENCE: http://hometown.aol.com/kthynoll Thanks & Take Care, Kathy Noll & Dr. Jay Carter kthynoll@aol.com Authors, "Taking the Bully by the Horns"

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a holistic drug and alcohol treatment program that out there that combines traditional with alternative therapies in treating addiction. You can read more about by going to there website at Drug Rehab

Searching for a trauma therapist. On SS Disability as a direct result of level of PTSD.

My autobiography, I PROMISE NOT TO TELL, is a 150 page paperback. It is my intriguing story that begins with a repressed memory surfacing of being sexually molested at the age of four. A continuous thread of sexual and domestic abuse runs throughout my life and I reveal all my secrets.

I was diagnosed w/PTSD about 12 years ago. Landed in hospital for several weeks, then under went therapy for 3 years. Things got back to 'normal', made changes in life, especially manner of handling stress. However, things can suddenly occur and I still get a rush of panic, startled feelings, anxiety. As time goes on I realize this is something that I live with. So I look forward to developing a support group, which I hope to add as a coping stratagy. There is much ignorance about PTSD. Only in the recent years have I seen improvement.

I am very interested in the associations between bipolar and PTSD. Their interactions, diagnosis, therapies.

Appreciate PTSD information...at age 7 I experienced traumatic death of parents in 1971...wish my care givers had known than what we know now about children and how they handle trauma.

Helpful like our roganisations

Help end suicide (and extreme depression, self-injury & incited violence) by spreading the free, volunteer info [SUICIDE VACCINE & Keeper of the Flame] on---> http://keeperofflame.proboards24.com/. or http://excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=1979 or http://www.bev.net/users/homepages/JamesSorrell Help prevent more NEEDLESS deaths and tragedies and protect the human race, including those you love!! Best regards, James Sorrell

I thank God, that He has blessed you with insightful knowledge and compassion to share it. I have PTSD. This information has brought me inspiration and suppor. As salaam alaikum.

I love this page. It looks really nice. Keep it up

I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I thought I had put it behind me... The truth was that I had put it away because I had never let it out to begin with. Lately since I have had a couple of patients that have been raped (I am a paramedic), my own memories and experiences have began to "bother" me. I would like to get some help, but it is hard when you are the person that is expected to do the helping... It is sites like this one that make it easier for people like me to express our feelings. Thanks for creating an avenue to getting the help I need.

beautiful site - inspirational

USE EMAIL

WOW, What a wonderful site...I haven't been able to read everything this site offers, but I can tell already it is a God-sent to me. I am an Adult-Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivor and I have PTSD....I struggle with Self-Esteem and terrible Nightmares and Flashbacks of all the abuse and past events. I have been in therapy and in and out of the hospital for 12 years off and on. Right now, I have an excellent therapist that I am working with and have recently been discharged from the Trauma Unit at Two Rivers.....both of these experiences have given me some great coping skills and have already greatly reduced my symptoms. I hope to gain more of my life back and reduce the nightmares as I continue to work thru my issues and learn to love myself again. I am a Survivor and I have Survived....therefore I live today with a new found HOPE, that tomorrow will be a much better day. Thank You for this website.

I am a female veteran of the Viet Nam Era who was sexually assaulted by a U.S. Serviceman while on duty in Sept. 1968. I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from this incident and have been fighting the Veterans Administration for the last 4 years for a 100% service-connected rating for P.T.S.D. I am currently rated as 30% service-connected. I just want to say to anyone who is in a similar situation: Never Give up! Fight with all your might to heard and to be given the compensation and benefits you so rightly deserve! As a female veteran of the U.S. Air Force, I suffered much sexual harassment and degradation during my tour of duty and I support any or all of those women serving in our armed forces for the right to be treated with respect, dignity, and honor! Thank you for making this forum available!

I am glad I found this website. I am a survivor, who is receiving psychiatric treatment, for approximately 12 years. I have many issues that destroy my esteem and confidence, as you probably are familiar with this kind of pathology. My goal is to be stronger, productive and believe that I matter. This is all for now.

What an awesome resource. I am an ex/injured cop working on my master's to go back and counsel cops with PTSD. I love the PTT format and principles. From my own experiences they seem to hit 'right on.' Thanks for the incite and resources. I copied your page of references for further book/reference needs. Thanks, Terry

i think this site is a good resource for anyone who has encountered spousal or domestic violence. i myself have not personally encountered this situation, but i know others who have.

I would love to talk to someone who has been through a similar life situation.I have some cult issues as well.

What a wonderful sight. When you have lived with years of abuse, pain, and heartache to know that there is hope is a tremendous thing. To those of you who are still dwelling in the storm let me tell you there is hope on the other side. You can get through all the trauma and come out the victor. Thank you Joyce and GFW for being a beacon of light in a dark lonely night. Wishing you all the best from My heart.. Jodi

this website is specail to me,I have read and I have lived threw these same thing's or should I say servived. my soul is harden by the things that have happen to me and I feel like I have my alarm on for every person I meet . Alway's affraid always have my wall up to be sure not to be anyone's garbage again. To avade any one's sick life and be the door mate. In my experience I have became suspicsus of everyone from the maintanance man to the mail man. What a terrible way to live!

Anger and stress management classes can be really helpful to improve personal relationships. Most people wait until their in crisis before they get help. Visit www.ajnovickgroup.com to learn more about taking classes. The are offered to both adults and adolescents.

There was a great quote that appeared on the Gift website, that I copied back in July, 2002. It read:

"Trauma survivors... they become thrivers, and they become teachers. They can go back and remember various things, and answer all those questions we have. They have hope, and they have sense, and the ability to care about other people....... to look into the eyes of others who have gone through the things that they have gone through, and to be at peace with that... and to show that they did it."

I came back to try and find it, but couldn't. Has anyone seen it here recently, or know from who it comes? Joyce, is it perhaps yours?

Hi im cassidy. I am a senior in high school. I am currently writing a research paper on domestic and spousal abuse. As a survivior of sexual and mental abuse as a child, I felt i should should write about some type of abuse. Since my mom makes for a great victim of domesti abuse I thought it only just to write it on that. Any information that anyone can give me would be the greatest help. Also if you just want someone to talk to then thats ok too.Thank You

A wonderful site. I did not know it existed. I was in a restaurant and a complete stranger commented on my fish. I offered him to taste a piece and we struck up a conversation. After we finished our meals and heading to our respective cars, he said to me, "when you get a chance, type in "gift" on your search engine." He also said, "you may not find what you need at first, but keep looking. When you do find it, be sure to share the website with a friend." I thought it strange that this person would suggest I type in gift, but if has been on my mind all day and so I searched "gift" and found you. I believe angels come in various forms. And I now believe this man was a messenger that I needed at this time. Once I found your site, I find many similiarities in my life. The various articles, stories, etc. are messages that have helped me feel better. Ironically, I did not talk about anything that may have been bothering me with this man, and your site may not be what he meant for me to find. At any rate, I found you and enjoyed what I have read so far.

Thanks for being there

I found a host of compassionate and sensitive articles that might inspire my friends, and help me stay well and avoid burnout! It's hard because I have Asperger's Syndrome, but luckily I am also intuitive and capable of empathy.

interesting site

I'm a 30 year plus survivor of childhood sexual abuse by my biological father (it went on from first memories to age 17). Then upon reading my confessions of fear to my diary, he tried to kill himself. So, a bit of issues there.

Over these years, I've read so much on the subject and tried so many things. And I wanted to thank you because your excellent articles, which combine science and spirituality in describing the self, have helped me to unlock and learn to live with those memories. Its deeper than the standard "you'll be okay" sentiment, it helps my mind to understand the workings of my own self....or to try anyway. Thank you for all that you do to help us.

I was reading your home page and I thought back to April 15, 2001. This is the anniversary of my son's death in a car accident and I was preparing to hear the worst from my surgeon who performed a breast biopsy. "I got the results from the lab. I didn't like them. It is not good. It's cancer." I don't believe anyone can forget being told those words. I was 40. What a way of kicking off the decade! It's 2004 and I'm still going through the reconstruction process following the bi-lateral mastectomy, chemo and radiation. But hey I'm a survivor. I got to satisfy my curiosity of being bald. Had way too much fun with that. Always wanted to be bigger than a 36A. There are easier ways. But hey I'm a survivor! Life is for the living. Joy and pain are a part of life. One of the first thoughts that came to mind after I was told I had cancer was something from the meditations of John Donne. "No man is an island entire of itself...." We ARE all connected. It is good to know that. It is important to embrace that. It is necessary to share all that we are.

Thank you

THANK YOU I TOO SUFFER FROM PTSD BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO GET THE HELP NEEDED. I GOT KICKED OUT THE ARMY 30 DAYS BEFORE RECEIVING ALL MY BENEFITS, SO I'M LOST WITHOUT THEM. I'M A DESERT SHIELD/STORM VETERAN.

Nice resource that I can use and pass on to soldiers and families re-integrating from OEF/OIF

This is a great website. Hope we can sponsor each other sometime.

SIRMIR=sisthas-In-rape/Men-In-rape is on the move. We are doing speeches to middle school and high school students on Sexual Assaulat Awareness in Chicago, Ilinois. If they won't come to you for help, then go to them! April is Sexual Assault Awareness month! Shirley Ajayi-Carroll aka AURA is CEO of SIRMIR. Our website is disabled, but will restart hopefully this year. But you can go to PrayingFriends@goups.msn.com and check us out there!Captain Yvonne Taylor of the sheriff's department is one of our keynote speakers! PEace,light and love! AURA

It has been four years since my my husband broke my jaw...which was he worst part of the abuse. We spearated. Since then I have put on at least 30pounds. I have been looking for articles like the ones you have written here. Thank you.

Just found this site

SUBBIMISON OF YOUR WEB SITE IS REALLY GREAT! I ENJOY THE TEXT AND THE COMMUCAION IT PROVIDES AS WELL AS THE SUPPORT AND INTERESTING SUBJECTS THAT ANYONE THAT HAS GONE THROUH A TRAMATIC SITUATION CARE RELATE TO.

I have just been diagnosed with PTSD. I have been a voluteer firefighter/emt for over 30 years and things have come to a head.

Was seeking information to help co-workers with crisis management during bioterrorism drills & found you. What a wonderful site! i am a social worker & intend to use your site as a referral for patients...and colleagues! Thank you for all the hard work, research and compassion that goes in to your site.

I have suffered from PTSD for nearly a year now after my husband pulled a gun on me then shot himself. Am looking up how to get better.

The AJ Novick Group is a certified provider in Anger Management, offering anger and stress management classes to adults, adolescents, individuals, couples, families, HR staff, employees and executives. We also teach skills in emotional intelligence and assertive communication. We are located centrally in southern California, based in Orange County. Visit us on the web at www.ajnovickgroup.com. Ari Novick, M.A.

I have copied all your information and will read it over. Seems good.

OK THANK YOU

great site, well done

really nice place here

My husband suffers from PTSD (Viet Nam Vet) I am looking for w support group or information to help me help him

I am an incest survivor who only recovered traumatic childhood memories when I reached my mid-forties. GFW has been a real lifeline!

Hi. Thank you for your site. So much to read and digest! Truly grateful for all of you. I am a gay man who was raised in an abusive household...raging alcoholic father who took his anger out on me, a mom who did not protect me from him, and a secret that burned within me because I believed I was going to hell because of my nature as gay. Some day I too will write a poem of the experience. If there is anyone else out there that has any similar story, please let me know. I would like to help others like me to become free...to reclaim our birthright to be! Thanks.

I AM A WOMAN FOLK ART PAINTER AND I LIVE ON THE EASTERN PART OF THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND MY ART TELLS A STORY OF MY HOME HERE ON HARKERS ISLAND,N.C.

I HAVE FOUND YOUR SITE MOST USEFULL FOR MYSELF AS WELL AS MY FIEANCE .I MYSELF KNOW TO WELL OF MY DISSORDER, ON THE OTHER HAND HE DIDNT BUT DOES NOW. WE WORK AT IT AS A TEEM. YOUR ARTICLE FOR PARNTERS IS MOST USEFULL.i sincerly hope and pray that the suffering we must endure will dissapear . the dusty road we must travel sucks but at times i find it to be rewarding,close to a blessing because we now know the true value of life. DALE&I; are very thankful to giftwithin. I find it ablessing and thank all invloved God bless you & all the world. sincerly & with gods blessings Dale&Celeste;!! xoxo.

Your site and your work are wonderful!

http://www.aaets.org

diagnosed at "round lake treatment centre" slowly but surely getting there w/help from reading lots and counselling."the anxiety book" is great!tks

My daughter has been in therapy for several years after realizing she had been abused as a child. She just can't seem to get to a point that she can get on with a happy life. I hope reading what others have experienced will help her.

I suffer from PTSD after a car accident and I am glad to see that there is help for me and others who suffer from PTSD.

In a presention to the Philipine Psychiatric Association Meeting on January 29, I introduced you important website for relent current info on PTSD.

Wonderful site. Really appreciate the articles, artwook, and poetry. Great to know and see professionals that truly understand PTSD. Has touched my heart.

great site, well done

The V.A. was first to discover the relationship between PTSD and aggressive behavior.It is now clear that anger management is a needed intervention for anyone suffering from PTSD.

I liked the artwork very much, very colourful. As a PTSD sufferer with art-therapy training, my work tends to be dark.

When I read your site, I was very impressed at the gentleness and caring I felt.

Bless you one and all for your bravery and courage.

Think not of yesterday, think of all the new tomorrows yet to come. Blessings, Love and Light, Jani~

Learn Skills in Anger and Stress mangement today. We are a leading provider, offering classes and training in southern California