PTSD and Self-Discovery: Climbing Out of the Hole

April 25, 2014 Michele Rosenthal

For a long time after my trauma I felt sucked into the darkness and despair of grief, loss, fear, anxiety and the frustration of the same question I repeatedly asked myself,

"Who am I now?"

It seemed that trauma and PTSD symptoms had branded me for life and there was no way to:

go back to who I'd been before (I was right about that)
go forward and become someone new (I was wrong about that)

What do we do when we get stuck in that place??

The Magic of Learning the New You

I love this poem by Portia Nelson from There's a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery. If you've already heard it, listen today for what it might mean to you in this moment.

If you've never heard it sit back, settle in and prepare to see the mystery of how we change both during and after trauma revealed....

Michele is the author of Your Life After Trauma: Powerful Practices to Reclaim Your Identity. Connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and her website, HealMyPTSD.com.

Tags: recovery trauma potria nelson ptsd symptoms

APA Reference
Rosenthal, M. (2014, April 25). PTSD and Self-Discovery: Climbing Out of the Hole, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, November 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/traumaptsdblog/2014/04/ptsd-and-self-discovery

Author: Michele Rosenthal

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Jeannette crowther

October, 26 2015 at 6:16 am

I can't find the audio I really want to hear it . I've been diagnosed with complex P t s d and feel relieved to put a name to my life long depression.

Natasha Tracy

October, 26 2015 at 9:48 am

Hi Jeannette,
I'm so sorry but audios were removed quite some time ago due to system issues.
- Natasha Tracy
- Blog Manager

dreamer

February, 11 2015 at 4:22 pm

this poem brought tears to my eyes. i've been suffering for years with ptsd so many terrible things have happened in my life, I feel exactly as described. I hope I can learn to walk around the hole in my sidewalk. tks

Rich

April, 30 2014 at 2:58 pm

Beautiful, I needed to hear that. Thank so much Michele.I can now say,trouble lurks; I see it, and walk down another street.God bless

Michele Rosenthal

April, 30 2014 at 12:45 pm

@Dawn -- Listen to the audio; that's where the poem is. Or you could Google it if you'd like to read it.

Dawn

April, 29 2014 at 6:21 am

Where is the poem? I really wanted to read it, but it isn't here. If someone could email it to me I would be thankful. Thank you.