2-Edged Sword of PTSD

So, I sit, and I write

There are days when the words are the only thing I can trust. The words allow me to control the amount of trust given. When you have ptsd there are days when there is not one person that you can trust. They could be the most trust worthy person and deserving of your faith in their ability not to intentionally hurt you.

Because of all the many times people have deliberately plotted to take advantage of you it is with earnest effort that a person with ptsd extends any amount of trust to you.

I am intelligent enough to know that nobody is perfect. Being glaringly aware of my own frailties, makes me also aware of the reasons why people do what they do. I live between the logical knowledge of realistically knowing that people just need to be accepted for who they are and the fact that people committed horrendous acts against me when I was at my weakest and most vulnerable.

Craving physical touch but if I can’t trust you when I need compassion the most, how the hell am I going to be able to trust you at all. We are not meant to be alone and I have beyond doubt overcome the fear of being alone by living in this city without my family and friends. I have been able to prosper despite living in a shelter because my environment was hostile and I could no longer trust the very person I  had loved supported to have my back.

The fact is I did not come here to live alone. I landed on my feet. That is what I do. I am a survivor. One of the perks of having ptsd is knowing how to adapt to any situation. Even ones that may appear to be detrimental to you.

I want a partner. I want to make new friends but when I see that they will talk behind others backs and show no loyalty I don’t trust them and I believe that is a logical assessment.  I do wonder, though, if I am sabotaging myself because of the ptsd.

Anger is not far behind that question because then I must use my tools I learned in therapy to get me back to a place of love. Returning to the love space will allow me to trust God and more than that to trust the God in me.

Everyday lately I am wanting to go back home to the tried and true of my family and friends in St. Louis. Trust is so very important in all our interactions with people. I am aware of the different levels of trust, but when people show you who they are…….well you already know.

I am trying very hard not to end up old and alone. Being alone though is how I feel safe, but that is sometimes when I am most vulnerable. I know I need to get out more and make friends. I tried that already. I had to stop talking to a woman because she would put other women down and basically murder other women’s character. She would talk to me disrespectfully and was critical of some of the things that make me uniquely me. I did not feel accepted for who I am. It felt like she wanted me to change so she could be around me. I did not trust her for those reasons. I could no longer take her criticism.

I have good friends and not one has told me to tone it down, so they would be comfortable around me. I admit I am not the usual woman. I don’t believe in fairy-tales. I was raised by some very strong, self-sufficient, and fiercely independent women. So, for some I may come off as harsh. I don’t sugar coat anything.

If you are not straightforward I find it hard to trust you. Being perfect is not what I expect. I just need people to keep it real.

Maybe I need to work on accepting people just the way they are, but I need people to be who they say they are. You must know yourself if want to know someone else.

Anyway, having said all of that. It is hard to trust people. I trust only God and the God in me. Right now, being alone is the safest place to be. A victim is something I refuse to ever again be.

 

Triggered, but my soul reminded me, I am Queen. “I am the soul’s poet.”

This is why I am the souls’ poet. I thought my computer was broken because I dropped it on the floor and it was giving me an error message to call Dell. I started freaking out because I was already stressing about having so much to do but still having a lot of pain. I began to cry and want to go home to St. Louis. I questioned myself about why I am here in Phoenix.
Pain is my biggest trigger. Pain leaves me feeling defeated. It makes me want to fight. That is what I am, at my core I am a fighter.
Maybe the Universe wants me to allow and surrender instead of fighting.
I have found ways to manage my pain and thought the days of tears from pain were over.  I would say however, that about 80% of my chronic pain is gone due to lifestyle changes I have made that included therapy, quitting smoking 7 years ago, losing weight, moving to a warmer climate and becoming more active.
I have been able to function without any pain medication for months but the training for my work at home job left me depleted and after going home to bury my mother in September my pain has increased.  I have been slowly getting back to myself.  Maybe I just need to be still for a while.
I am going to go see a pain specialist for the remaining pain in my neck, shoulder, upper back, my arm, hand, wrist and fingers. This doctor does not automatically write a prescription but treats the specific area first before prescribing a pill. Chronic pain wears on you like an obnoxious noise that becomes too much to bear, leaving you with a feeling of needing to escape. This feeling of needing to flee is the trigger.
Thank God for therapy and I know that “This is now and not then.” I guess I will always have to deal with triggers but now after therapy I have knowledge and I have tools to get back to feeling safe again.
 
To say I was feeling like giving up is putting it mildly, I felt devastated. I was worrying about how I was going to get my business up and running. All I think about lately is GirlGetYouSomeHelp.com. Now that I have a launch date I feel the pressure of being productive everyday.
 
I sat down and prayed, turned on the computer and it was working properly.
My soul reminded me of who I be. These words came out of me like water. I promise you that my soul wrote this to let me know just how powerful I am. I don’t have to stress or freak out because something feels a certain way. I am not my feelings. God is still in control.

Shine
I have been made in the fire,
laid out in the sun to become ashes
that fall upon my body and burn away the pain,
I know if I make through this,
after what I already made it through
a 100 facet diamond will have nothing on my glow,
my shine so bright that all night flees in the wake of me,
the powerful one able to look at the sun,
the one that gives life from the womb,
the one who holds up the moon and shoots stars around mars and can be the diamond that all diamonds aspire to be,
you cant see me because I be in your soul,
want to find me,
you want to be a kind like me,
but you will never be
because it is only your own shine
that will nurture you soul and make you whole.

by mozayik “the souls’ poet”

11.15.17

The truth is…..

Honestly, almost all of my relationships have been abusive in some way, even my relationships with women. But the scary part is, I did not know it at times.
One day over 25 years ago, while in the midst of a deep depression that had left me unable to function I called the crisis hotline. I wanted to die to alleviate the emotional pain that had become unbearable. Suicide is more about wanting to stop the pain.
The woman on the phone asked me a series of questions, after which she said, “Yvette you are in an abusive relationship.” She said, “Although your husband is not hitting you he is emotionally and financially abusive.”
She gave me some resources for counseling. That is where my healing journey began.
It took many years of stopping and starting therapy before finally making a commitment to see what the end could be. I chose to Love me more than I had been trying to love the people in my life. It has been seven years. I have received a phenomenal return on my investment.
#GirlGetYouSomeHelp

Healing is possible

My passion is to help women understand the different types of abuse, understand how it has affected her, and where to go to get help.
I am not a therapist but I have had a lot of therapy that has allowed me to change. I am not an expert on therapy. I just want to serve as an example that women can relate to.

I want to say, “SisStar, if I did it you can too. You can be happy on the inside all of the time. It is a downright dirty shame that we have to fix ourselves. But we can do it and your healing will change the course of your entire family for generations to come.”.

#GirlGetYouSomeHelp

Begin Again, 7 Years of Blogging

The launch date for the GirlGetYouSomeHelp.com is March 23, 2018 the seven year anniversary of The Souls’ Poet.com

My mission is to lead women, particularly LGBTQ women to healing. I am the relate-able example that healing is possible.

My message is simple. Girl get you some help. I don’t say this in a judgemental tone. I say this because I love you. I see you. I know what you have been through. If I can heal so can you. I promise you it is better on the other side.

Writing has saved my life. Every therapist asked me to write.  Writing is a proven facilitator of  healing. Pouring your emotions and feelings onto the paper is one of the practical tools of therapy.

I will use journal writing, and poetry to not only help with healing but to also educate on the many forms of abuse and domestic violence specifically where it is women hurting women within the LGBT community. I want to also educate or demystify how to find a good fit when looking for a therapist. I will give tips on and how to work with your therapist, how to get what you need from therapy and when to say “I am out of here.” when the therapist is not a good fit.

It is my purpose and passion to help women heal with my whole life.

I feel it is utterly important that women heal because it is true,

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

 

A mother’s thoughts on father’s day “the truth”

It is time to tell the truth.  As a man, a father and a husband you failed all of us.  As your wife you mistreated me, devalued me and abused me physically, financially and psychologically.  As your wife I laid down my life and entire body for your pleasure and happiness.  I literally gave you my soul trying to get you to give me what I rightfully deserved because I was your wife.  the minute you realized that I was waking up to your mistreatment you went into over drive to destroy me.

You vowed to honor, cherish and protect me and you did none of these things.

During my time living with you I was made to feel dispensable.  I gave you children by actually abusing my body with injections from hormones and going under the knife of three surgeries.  I poured everything of me into you, the children, the home and the community.  When I became aware of your abuse and started down the path to healing you refused to do what was needed to save our family.

But I get all the blame and you get all the glory.

When my children put you on a pedestal I am continually traumatized because I want to scream to the top of my voice that this man did everything within his power to destroy and cast me aside as if I was of no value.

Mr. man the father of my children your children should know what you have deliberately done to their mother.

On mother’s day I don’t get cards or presents declaring their love for me at least not until recently that one of our sons took me to lunch and the other promised dinner that I have yet to receive.

You did not teach them to honor me but I taught them to honor you.  Those Father’s day cards they gave you growing up were bought with my money when I took them to the store and told them to buy.

It is time to finally tell my truth about you.  During our marriage you were despicable in your behavior towards me.  I did not deserve what you did to me.  You called me a stupid bitch even before we were married and you treated me like a stupid bitch the entire marriage.  You need to take ownership for the way you treated the woman that risked her live to give you children.

I was a great wife and mother and yes I said great.  I was the reason your children were healthy, smart and protected.  I kept your house clean, I cooked from scratch three hot meals everyday.  All you had to do was go to work and come home.

I did all that I could to make you happy but you still mistreated me.  On mothers day you would not even tell me happy mothers day and that still hurts to this day.  My needs were never a priority.  I gave you my blood and you threw it back in my face.  My oldest child would say to me “Mama why do you bend over backwards to please him when he treats you like shit?” That is when I knew I had to leave you.  I did not want her to think that this is how relationships should be.  My youngest child stood in front of us both and asked you, “Daddy why do you talk to mama like you talk to us?”  in other words a five year old child could see that your treatment of me was abusive.  I was not treated as an equal partner with value.  You treated me as if I was in the way.  I asked you for a divorce and you told me no because you were waiting until the children were 18 and then you were going to divorce me.

I need the truth to be told about your character as a man.  I begged you to go to counseling or to a minister so we could talk about saving our marriage, our family but you adamantly refused.  I told you I was unhappy and you told me that was not your problem.  You always had this tremendous animosity towards me as if I had somehow single-handedly destroyed your life.  You did not own your shity ways.  You set it up so that you got all the credit and I all the blame.

You plotted against me with your lawyer to destroy me “the mother of your children”.  I deserved honor.  I deserved respect.  I needed protecting but you cast me away like old shoes that had become uncomfortable and unsightly.

During the marriage I admit that some of my behavior was confusing but I needed help not judgment and criticism.  I remember lying in bed trying to explain to you that I was having flash backs and memories of my childhood sexual abuse.  Your response was I don’t want to hear that I am not your therapist.  I could fill a book with the disrespecting and demeaning comments you made to me.

I know now that because of the many traumas I suffered in my life I have PTSD and I was being constantly triggered by your abusive behavior and that resulted in my chronic suicidal depression.  I needed help.

Even after all I sacrificed for you, all that I gave to you I was the enemy.

Because you could not control me for your purposes I became something you needed to get rid of as soon as you had used me for your agenda.

You promised to honor me, to cherish me and to protect me until death separated us.  I did everything within my power to stay with you until I realized that you had no concern for my well being.  You just wanted me gone and were not willing to compromise or work on the marriage.

YOU FAILED ALL OF US.  If being the head is what you wanted you failed your family miserably.  You took my children and then didn’t do right by them.  You worked second shift everyday.  They spent weekends with me.  You would not answer your phone during the day. While the children were at school you were unavailable.  I was the parent the school called. I was the parent that attended the open houses and Parent/Teacher meetings.

You may have provided a roof over their heads but you did not really put any time in raising them and teaching the  values they needed to be better off than their parents.

You told them lies to manipulate them and trick them out of opportunities that I worked hard to provide for them.  I moved into one of the top school districts in the country.  They fall number 30 in the entire country.  They were enrolled, had their classes and id’s and would not let them attend.  I had deliberately worked hard to get a home big enough for them to live with me during the week and stay with you on the weekends.  I told you I did not want any money.  My husband and I at the time did not need your money.  You lied on me to them so they would not go to school from my house.  You essentially robbed them of a brighter future.

Your only concern has been how much money would come out of your pocket not your children’s well being.  You made it appear that I left you and the kids.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  You and your lawyer plotted and manipulated me out of the house.  You threatened to quit your job, leave town and burn the house down before you would give me your house or your children.  You were calling my phone and playing the funeral march to scare me out of the house.

The judge ordered you to pay all the bills in the house where your children and I lived so that I could save my money to move out.  You stopped paying and things started to get cut off.  He told you to co-sign for me to get an apartment because of being a stay at home mom and not having any rental history.  You refused to obey and that resulted in me living next door to a crack house.  You did not protect the mother of your children.

You made sure I felt like a stupid bitch.

So yeah, should you be honored?  Were you really a good father?  Hell NO.

I am done with protecting the children from the truth of who their father is.  I have talked positively about you always but you did not deserve it.  The truth is you abused their mother.  You did not protect their mother.  You never honored what their mother did so that you or them could be happy. 

You victimized their mother, forced her out to fend for herself.  You vilified their mother to them. To the world you wanted it to appear that I was the problem, when the whole time behind closed doors you were a complete and utter asshole.

You frequently told me that if I did not like the ways things were that I should leave and you could do it by yourself.  Stupid man that you are you thought you were gaining the upper hand when all along you were just still continuing the abuse of their mother.

I don’t ever remember you taking the children to store or getting a box of crayons to make a card for their mother on mother’s day but I still made sure they honored you.  Not because you deserved it but because I wanted to teach them how to treat people.

You are the stupid one for throwing their mother away.  You are the stupid one for not being grateful to a woman that gave you children and grandchildren.

Yes I had mental illness.  But that makes you look even worse.  You refused to refinance the car so I could afford it and when it got repossessed you went after me.

How did I become the enemy?  I gave you everything you wanted at the risk of my own life but you could see me out in the street?  You did not give a fuck about a woman that gave you everything. Those grandchildren you dote over are because I gave you children.

I tried and I begged you to try to keep our family together.

I will not be saying positive things about your anymore.  I am not being malicious.  I am just telling the truth about who you are.

You are an ungrateful, misogynistic, abusive human being.  You are selfish.  You are and was arrogant to think you could do it all by yourself.  But I have one question.  Who is the mother of your children?  Did you do right by her?  Did you value her contribution to the family?  Did you show your children in word and deed how to treat their mother?

I approve of me

Before Therapy, I gave away my power because I did not value myself. I thought I deserved mistreatment. I constantly sought approval from those that did not deserve me.

After Therapy, I stand up for myself. I don’t allow anyone to mistreat me. I set clear boundaries and have the strength and value of self to enforce them. #therapyworks

I grew up at 50 in Therapy.

Until I began therapy and parented the abused, neglected and abandoned little girl in me I was stuck playing victim.  It was truly the only role I knew how to play.  The only coping skills I actually had were the ones I had when I was raped at five.  I would hear people say to me all the time, “stop playing the victim”.  Until I worked hard to process those feelings and to unlearn bad coping skills I was doomed to behaving immaturely.

After therapy I have an understanding of self that empowers me to change.

What is the Evidence?

One therapy-tool that I use frequently is asking myself a simple question. “What is the evidence to support the thought?”
If I am dwelling on an imaged wrong it can be put to rest with a simple, “what is the evidence of that?”
In the past my abusers had a way of turning things around to make it appear that I was the one with the problem. Not anymore. I see right through the BS much quicker now.
#therapyworks #girlgetyousomehelp

The soul’s voice

I have not posted in a while. The process of self-publishing is long and tedious but so very enjoyable.  I am also planning for my trip to Newark in October to attend the annual Convocation of the Unity Fellowship Church.

I am also having Breast Reduction Surgery soon. I have a lot to share about my relationship to my breasts and how it relates to my childhood sexual trauma.

So much has happened since August of last year.  I will talk about what life is like after therapy and the changes I have experienced in myself now that healing has come.  Some changes are subtle and others are glaringly obvious.

Since this blog started with me trying to finish the book The Souls’ Poetry and I am now nearing the completion it is only fitting that I share the journey.  I will be posting any and every thing happening in my life as it relates to the continuing evolution of my soul and it’s expression.

The Souls’ Poetry is my soul’s voice.  This book is my soul’s gift to the world.

My life’s mission is to lead women to and through therapy.  I want to demystify therapy, help women to identify when and if they need to seek therapy.  My experience can help to show what to expect from therapy, how to choose a therapist and just to give a layman’s point of view about the entire therapy process from beginning to end.

So, let’s go.  Next year this time we will be celebrating.  The Souls’ Poetry will be on bookshelves.  I will have a clear plan for my soul’s spiritual growth. I will be at least 5 bra cup sizes smaller.

Love, Peace and “the souls’ poet” mozayik