Why I Blog About My Personal Life and Experiences

I never expected to start a blog. My personal experiences were something few knew about. What made me go from tightly lipped to my life being an open book? There is a reason why I started blogging, and it is directly linked to why I blog about my personal life and experiences.

I STARTED TO BLOG IN ORDER TO HELP PEOPLE THAT WERE STRUGGLING

Rewind to when the pandemic first began. Isolation became our way of life, and confusion and helplessness were our norm. I remember thinking about how hard it must especially be for those who live alone.

I am a child abuse survivor. Anyone who reads my blog now knows that painful fact about me. What you may not know is that this personal and traumatic life experience caused a snowball effect. I thought about others who are child abuse survivors, and how they were no longer able to seek outside support due to quarantining. My heart broke for people who were struggling alone. I decided to look up child abuse foundations and ask if there was a way I could help.

I came across foundations looking for writers to share their personal life and experiences. I have always loved writing, and I have written poetry from the time I was a child as an outlet for the pain I have felt. I decided to submit my story about the importance of awareness to two of these foundations (NAASCA.org and CPTSDfoundation.org).

SHARING MY PERSONAL LIFE AND EXPERIENCES allowed me to spread comfort and awareness

The feedback I received warmed my heart and made me feel like I was helping others to not feel alone. At the same time, I felt that by sharing my story I was taking control of my life. I cannot change what happened to me. However, if I can bring comfort to others, then something good can come from the unimaginable.

I continue to contribute regularly to these amazing organizations.  I wanted to do my part to break the stigma regarding those topics, and the only way I could do so was by example. As a result, I decided to start blogging so I could spread awareness about trauma and mental wellness. This branched into also sharing about what I’ve learned from my relationships and from parenting my daughter.

MY FIGHT AGAINST COMPLEX POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

I mentioned in prior posts that I have Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), and that I would discuss it more fully in another post. I now feel it is the time to do so. For most of my life I didn’t even know what C-PTSD was, or that I had it. Although it is not officially diagnosed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), it is related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is recognized by the DSM-5, and it is caused by extreme fear due to a traumatic event. Symptoms include flashbacks, hypervigilance, and avoidance of things associated with the trauma. C-PTSD is also caused by trauma; however, it is caused by repeated or prolonged trauma. 

My C-PTSD was caused by my prolonged abuse due to my mother throwing me out of the house from the time I was eight years old.

My mother also vacillated between loving me and wanting nothing to do with me.  Other forms of trauma were her making me believe that it was my job to take care of her emotional needs in order to feel safe and loved. Growing up with no sense of safety, support, or love caused me to view the world as a very scary place and for me to feel frightened all the time. If you want to read more about my story of abuse, you can read about it here.

My symptoms of C-PTSD include having nightmares about what happened to me, watching something on TV or reading something that causes me to emotionally flashback to my trauma (I don’t visualize it, but I feel the sadness caused from it), and negative self-perception. Additionally, I used to have a distorted perception of my abuser, as I felt completely dependent on her. I still struggle with emotional regulation because certain things trigger me. When I get triggered, I feel completely panic stricken and helpless, just as I did when I was a child. Although I remember most of what happened to me as a child, there are some things I don’t fully remember. Having gaps in your memory or blocking things out entirely is another symptom of C-PTSD (healthline.com, 2018).

My biggest symptom is my ongoing struggle with anxiety. My autonomic nervous system is overactive due to my prolonged and intense trauma. In other words, I am hyperalert and in “flight or fight” mode, feeling continuous anxiety (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2020). I have written numerous blog posts about the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, the types of anxiety disorders, and two different articles filled with various strategies and tips to manage anxiety in adults and children .

WRITING ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE AND EXPERIENCES HELPS BRING HOPE

These personal experiences are not easy to write about. It is not easy to write about having C-PTSD. In fact, I have broken down after writing many of my blog posts, specifically the ones about going no contact with my mom, my relationship with my inner child, and my story of abuse. I am taking wounds that will never fully close and reopening them by pouring my emotional pain onto the computer screen. Despite what many have thought, it does not give me closure or help with my healing because I write from the heart. To do so, I must fully connect with the words I am typing.  In some ways, that means I experience it again.

So why do I write about things that cause me pain?

Three words: Awareness and hope.

I want to show the world that scars do not have to be present to be felt. In fact, the scars left by emotional and mental abuse may be invisible, but that does not mean they are not potent. They cause immeasurable damage to the minds and souls of those who experience it.  It is much harder to prove emotional and mental abuse, let alone have someone intervene. This type of abuse will continue unless there is more awareness. With every story I tell, my hope is that one person gains awareness. If one person now understands, perhaps one child won’t have to experience that trauma.

HOPE IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPONS YOU HAVE

That is where hope comes into play. Hope. It is a word that I have clung to my entire life. Hope allowed me to keep going during my childhood. I would tell myself that maybe if I was hurting, that meant somewhere out there one child wasn’t being abused.  Albeit unrealistic, it was my hope that my pain was sparing someone else. That hope brought comfort to something that no child should ever endure.

I started blogging about my personal life and experiences, and I will continue to do so, because I want to spread hope. I want people to know that no matter what you have endured, no matter how broken and alone you feel, there is always hope. There is so much that can be taken away from each of us, so much pain can be inflicted upon us, but hope is the one thing that is ours. Even in our darkest moments, even when we feel the world has turned its back on us, hold onto hope. Hope is what brings us out of the darkness and into the light.

I hope my words bring each of you some hope. Hope that things can get better. Hope that you are not alone.

Hope that you matter and your story matters. Hope that you can rise no matter how many times life has thrown you down. Hope that you can heal. Hope that you have survived and will continue to survive no matter how hard life may be. Hope that you will remember to feel hope even on the days you feel like giving up.

I never thought I would start a blog. Yet here I am blogging my life story. I appreciate every person who has reached out to me with their personal stories or to let me know that my words brought them comfort and hope. To each of you, thank you. You inspire me to keep blogging and to keep sharing.