Hello
I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was 37 years old. (I turned 38 in August of 2017.) It wasn't something I sought out, but I always knew that something in my brain was off. I knew that I had ADHD and Bipolar disorder. I knew that certain situations caused me great stress and anxiety. I knew that I had experienced a high amount of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Events) for a woman who is white and grew up in the middle class with many privileges. I knew that some of my responses were inappropriate, but I wrote them off as my quirkiness and being socially awkward. The thing is, being quirky and having a serious mental illness that affects your mind AND body in profound lasting ways are very different situations. One thing I had to do was be proactive, and a little bit pushy, to find the source of my symptoms. I needed a way to repair a damage that was aging my body and hampered my spirit. And I didn't want to be gaslighted by another person who looked at a fat white woman and sees anothe...