PTSD and depression

[Rosie1st]

TW: mentions loss, death, natural disaster, etc

Hi everyone this is my first post. I was in the Lismore 2022 flood. I nearly lost my life while being by nearly being swept away in the current. I had to listen to my little dog drown.I couldn't get to her because everything floating around the house in the dark. I also lost my cat Diamond. I also lost my house and everything I own. I'm now living out of a flood prone area. I've been diagnosed with depression and PTSD. I'm now a different person the flood is on the back of my mind all the time. Is this normal?

[rav3n]

hi and welcome to the forums @Rosie1st 

i'm so sorry to hear that you lost your pets and home to the flood, i can't begin to imagine how painful and hard that must've been. it absolutely makes sense that you're a different person now - traumatic experiences can change us, and losing parts of us that impacts our identity (such as our pets, home, personal items, sense of safety and security, etc) could definitely leave us feeling different, maybe even lost? it's also common for those memories to pop up often or sit in the back of our mind, but there are ways to manage it and regain a sense of safety/security. have you spoken to a professional about those thoughts/feelings? 

we're here for you 💙

(p.s. i've just added a trigger warning at the top of your post to help keep our community safe - don't stress, we know that newer members might not be across our community guidelines yet, feel free to check it out here: Guidelines)

[Rosie1st]

Hi thanks for responding to my post. I was seeing a counsellor for awhile. But I didn't get much out of that. So much of the town is still traumatised. Empty fenced off houses and shops etc.

[Rosie1st]

I adopted a little cat and named her Ishka. She is my little therapy cat.

[rav3n]

@Rosie1st glad you sought support, and totally fair if you didn't get much out of it. if it does get hard to manage, it might be worth trying again, but with a different therapist/counsellor? but if talk therapy isn't for you, there's definitely other strategies and services to reach out to as well 💙

it's really tough when entire towns and communities go through such a traumatic event. we all react, process and heal differently. Ishka is a beautiful name, and sounds like she's a big part of your healing journey! how old is she? what breed?

[Rosie1st]

• Ishka is nearly 2 my therapy cat