A Survivor's Story
Background
For years, I believed that I had battled depression since I was eight years old, with only one clinical diagnosis at age 12. However, the diagnosis of depression could not describe the scope of the battle in my head, and finally, on September 8th, 2016, I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which has depression as one of its main symptoms. In my experience of PTSD, depression was not only a major symptom, it was the primary symptom I suffered, and thus the following pages chronicle not only my experiences of trauma and being triggered, but of the nothingness and detachment that such traumas caused.
I am sharing this highly personal, brutally honest series of experiences for educational purposes only. This material could potentially be triggering, but I thought it was important to show that I have personally battled depression many times and am highly empathetic with fellow sufferers/survivors. You may recognize your own thoughts or the actions of a loved one in these stories, and if you do, know that this is not unusual and not a character flaw.