How have traumatic events caused you to feel?
How have traumatic events caused you to feel? Can you name some emotions associated with experiencing those events, and how you felt afterwards?
For me, being a victim of persistent, and sometimes vicious bullying has caused me to feel upset, pain, frustration, hurt, disappointment, sadness, anger, a feeling of being wronged, etc.
@humorousThinker396
Thanks for sharing your story. It really helps to know you aren't alone sometimes...
I was stalked by a stranger for a year. My predominant feeling throughout was fear. Fear to be at work/home, fear to go to the supermarket, fear going anywhere in the town I lived. The only time I felt free was when I went completely out of the area. I felt like me again. Alongside fear there was hopelessness, vulnerability, isolation & huge amounts of anxiety. Every noise made me jump & every time the phone rang my heart was filled with dread. Even when he wasn't around, I still felt like a sitting duck. Unable to fly away & knowing he'd soon have me in his cross hairs again.
When it was all over, I was of course relieved. But left with more scars than I care to admit. Initially something as simple as seeing someone with brown hair wearing a black coat would cause my heart to bang & blood whoosh in my ears.
It took time for me to bounce back & reclaim the person I was before my life was ruled by fear. Today I still get reminders of how deeply I was affected & I still carry scars. But I refuse to let it change the core of my being. He just doesn't deserve that kind of power.
@PurpleSkies1983 I'm so incredibly sorry you had to go through that terrible experience!! I can really relate to what you said, I use to have a stalker as well, so I can understand the fear you're talking about. I'm happy to hear you're not giving him anymore power over your life, that is extremely brave of you!! 💕
@happycloud7o9 thankyou. I'm sorry you went through it too 😔. Just the most crushing & desperate of circumstances to be in. How are you coping now?
@PurpleSkies1983 Sorry for taking so long to reply, didn't see a notification before. I've been coping a lot better but things did get worse before they got better. I was avoiding how much it affected me but finally started working with a therapist and started facing what happened and it slowly became less scary. It's been a long road but am finally getting my life back together. You will too so even though there are rough days ahead, please don't lose hope ❤️
@happycloud7o9 Glad we are both on the up & up! I too found talking about it to be invaluable. Sort of "normalises" it in my mind. Not the trauma itself...but it makes it less scary everytime I talk about it. Eventually I was able to tell it matter of factly & found the time in between thinking about it became further and further apart.
It's the side effects that pop up alongside it that take me aback. Sometimes it takes me a while to "catch on" and understand that I'm feeling negatively about a new situation because of what happened. But as someone very wise told me...that'll be the "post" part of PTSD!
Really hope you are able to continue gaining strength & know you aren't alone in this - we're all a work in progress & I guess we were just dealt a hand that requires a longer play! But we'll get there 💜
@PurpleSkies1983
Sorry you had to go through that traumatic, fearful experience. I am very glad that you are not letting the perpetrator have any unnecessary power within your life. I wish you the best
Thankyou so much, that means a lot.
@PurpleSkies1983
I am very happy you shared this! I know it can be very hard to share what has happened to us traumatically. It took me about 3 years before I started talking about what happened with my rape. And I know the feeling of fear. I am so glad you didn't let your stalker have that power! You are a strong person!! Keep doing great 
@Kayrosesnowflake Thanks so much & I'm so sorry for what you went through...Can't imagine how hard that must have been. Glad you have been able to continue to work it through too though. Not an easy road with lots of unexpected twists but we're trundling along regardless! 😊
@humorousThinker396
Helpless. Worthless. Desperate. Tense. Unwanted. Isolated. Lonely.
Never really thought about it this way, but I'm still feeling a lot of most of these after all those years.
@hereigoagain
I can relate to experiencing several negative emotions after going through traumatic experiences. I hope these will lessen for you as time goes on. Wishing you the best.
@hereigoagain
I recognize these feelings you have listed all too well. But with me and most of the people that I have met that have had traumatic experiences, they lessen over time. Some never fade but I hope that you are coping well. It can be very very difficult I know. 
@Kayrosesnowflake
Well, a lot of my traumatic experiences are older than YOU, but thanks for your kind comment :) For me it was very important to realise though that those feelings would never really be fixed before I confront myself with them and process what happened and what effects it has had on me. Time at least in my case is not enough, I'm having to actively work on things too.
Have to "hit the ground running." (At the bright and early hour of early afternoon because most nights I can't sleep until after 4am or the sun coming up. Or I sleep sporadically waking several times in the night).
There's no going back and there's not much time to reflect. Desperately scrambling for the outcome I prefer in current situation. OVERWHELMED but it doesn't matter. How will I ever climb this hill?
As far as in the past? Confused, desperately alone and irreversibly broken. Shamed, guilty and misunderstood. Angry (mainly at myself). Heartbroken. Frantic in my mind as I searched all corners there looking for a way out of a deteriorating mental state. I did not find one.
Now I have to.
@themainjane
This sh*t is tough. I really hope you'll find your way. <3
@hereigoagain
Thank you. I hope so too. Hope we all can find our way.
@themainjane
Sorry you had to go through negative, traumatic events. I can relate. Wishing you a good recovery.
@themainjane
You will find your way in time :\ It takes a lot of time but once you find your way, the waters calm and you feel like you can breathe again.
Irritable, lost, confused, inhuman, sad... Probably more I haven't even considered or have never noticed until recently. It's weird to have a diagnosis on something I thought was normal until now. But worst knowing how it's effected my life before and today.
@thoughtfulCake6126 Im sorry to hear this, I know these feelings and they can be really hard to deal with. If you ever want to talk we are here for you <3
@thoughtfulCake6126
I am sorry you had to go through what you did. :\ I know it can be tough and the emotions and scars left are hard to bear. Wishing you the best
@humorousThinker396 Like I'm a bad person. I live in fear of doing something wrong. If I think I've upset someone it feels like the world is going to end. I think something terrible will happen if I upset someone.
@RabidCoonhound07 Im sorry Coonhound that you feel this way. I wonder if this is possibly because of past events where you may have been blamed for things that werent your fault or felt to blame for other peoples actions, reactions, and so on? Very often when people have low self worth and self esteem, they can often feel as if they are the cause of other peoples hurts, upset, anger etc but in fact because of how they feel about themselves, survivors unconscious project those feelings onto other people and situations, believing that this must be the way that others feel about them too?
Being a highly sensitive person is not easy , but yet we must accept it as not a weakness .. because of it i have experienced a lot of hurt , a lot of confusion and misunderstanding especially from ones who dont feel as deep . Being bullied as a child and never really having any friends has helped tone who I am now and taught me to manage staying calm as there is no need for angriness or letting bullies have the desired effect on you . Since i interpret everything around me I see everything I hear Every thing my awareness is increased so simple non offensive words can hurt me due to the set thoughts ... I often overthink and find it hard to find my self again . Yet only my sensitivity increases with age and everything is overwhelming , I still have to balance everything .. traumatic events i still re live and I often cause myself pain ... its because my person i so deep . To anyone who thinks its a weakness its not we can really change the world despite having these problems . But it allows us to perceive everything better and feel others better ... everything happens for a reason .. bad relationships , abusive stepdad, alcoholism, bullying, manipulation, Stupidity .. etc all part of my life as in what others do to me .. and i am a good person i dont want to be like them . So everything should go well . Grateful to be alive.
@Rosie88 You have such a positive outlook on things, I love that <3 thank you for sharing :3
@PhoenixPatronus I appreciate your commenting , I believe if we weren't positive there wouldnt be much left lf us , because with it comes happiness and we find ourselves .. Its okay to be sad or down too its natural so when it happens let it be amd then you'll feel stronger later as it only lets us get rid or negative energies . I am a poet so I usually write if anything you can search me on poetrysoup :)
@Rosie88 What a great post to read Rosie and you are so right. Though experiences are bad and can shape us to a certain degree, it can also be used as a catalyst to become the kind of person you wish to be. It can make us more understanding of others, more compassionate and supportive and so on. There may always be triggers and things that cause us pain, but this can lessen. Everything in life does have a reason, this I believe, we may not know it at the time we are going through things, but bad doesnt have to stay bad, good can come from really difficult experiences for sure.
@humorousThinker396
I've moved your thread to this forum as we prepare for our sub-community. :)