A lot of people are going through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is known as a delicate mental health condition that comes as a result of an individual witnessing or experiencing terrifying things, such as accidents, loss, pain, shock and the like. This isn't a good thing, as we've come to see many people who suffer this illness become a shadow of themselves, being unable to move on due to the shock and the flashbacks that often reoccur and make them refrain from engaging in that which led to the trauma in the first place. I've been in that shoe before, and I'd tell you all about it.
My trauma began many years ago, when I was very young; it all began when I wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle, and my friend volunteered to teach me, but then we didn't have a bicycle to practice with, and so we had to rent two in a store that rents out bikes to people, especially children. After renting, he began to teach me how to pedal and balance myself on the bicycle, but fate had other plans because on that very day, while he was still teaching me, a vehicle coming behind me hit me hard and threw me in the air. I thought I'd die, but then I landed on another car park by the roadside and sustained internal injuries.
Given that it was a near-death experience, those scenes went on to live rent-free in my head and memory for many years that followed that particular day. For years, I was also scared to even walk beside the road for fear of getting hit; the mere sounds of a car horn allowed me to flash back to that day and what I went through before falling on another car.
Aside from flashbacks that happen often, I also have disturbing nightmares of the same scene repeating itself. These went on for months, going on to create fear, anxiety, and panic within me. It went further in making me try as much as possible to avoid walking beside the road or going near a bicycle. It was just frustrating, and I just wish I could be away from everyone and everything for my own sanity.
How did I recover from a thyroid disorder? Well, it was thanks to some vital steps and decisions I took, the first of which is to be recognised and accept that the trauma did happen. After that, I sought help, and help also located me because their words and counselling did a wonderful job of restructuring my thinking. After that, I began to gradually rebuild my sense of safety, though it wasn't immediate, but it worked over time, and lastly, I indulge in healthy habits that calm my mind.
A lot of people are going through silent battle and we think it's strange or look down on them because we don't understand what they're going through, instead of being another reason they refrain further, we should find wants to help them become their best self.
All photos are mine.