For anyone who is working through PTSD and boundary issues, it is important to understand, that it takes time to first understand what PTSD means. PTSD in and of itself is very confusing and people who are challenged by it basically are "very sensitive" and they don't understand "why" but they all become aware that they can easily get triggered and become overwhelmed with anxiety. And the other thing that challenges them is how other people simply do not understand their challenge. So they "do" often feel very alone with it.

However, what people can learn to do is to work on "what areas" they struggle with and slowly work on ways to "remap" their mind around this troubled area. This "process" takes a lot of time and patience. And the reason for that is that each person has to "learn" new ways of dealing with challenges where they slowly gain skills and that also requires learning how to better manage the "emotions" that also just come forward and cause "confusion".

The "cycles" of PTSD are also hard to understand, and the person who struggles always struggles with their brain getting "overworked" and "overwhelmed" and that presents this desire to "run" and want to find some place or safe environment so that they can "settle down" and take a break.

Because this happens, these people often feel like "failures" or that they no longer "know how to be happy" and there is often a very lost feeling that comes over them.
However, if they spend time learning how to help themselves, they will make "slow gains" and have greater lengths of time where they "feel normal somehow".

It takes the brain a long time to "remap" and each person is going to be "different" depending on "how they are challenged". Once the brain developes PTSD, the person is "very sensitive" and it will take time to learn how to "consciously" develope ways to self sooth and self care and be "patient" with one's self.

There is definitely a "slow healing process" for PTSD. And part of learning how to gain on it is to first understand it, and to have the right kind of "understanding support" where the person gains permission to finally learn whatever they need to learn without being "misunderstood or hurt" as they slowly make efforts to heal.

Having PTSD is really no different than having a "learning disability" of somekind and learning how to work around it and also understanding that it truely doesn't mean "failure". It is also always important to understand that just because the person struggling with PTSD has a "lack" of ability to know how to deal with certain issues or challenges or "having others disrespect their boundaries", doesn't mean they are a true "failure".

People with PTSD do have a "heightened sense of awareness" and they have to learn how to understand it and accept that they "will" see things that other people often ignore or do not feel threatened by. By allowing "self" to maintain "self care and keeping an "open mind"", the person who struggles "can" become a deeper and more knowledgeable person overall.

It is very important to maintain a sense of "giving self permission to be patient". To make it a point to make sure that "self" doen't fall into defeat when a cycle does present itself. Instead the person has to understand that with "time and patience" they actually "can" make progress on it and to continue to be "very patient" because "it truely does take time".

Maintaining a "good support system" is a must do. And it is important to find a therapist that is "a good match" where you do feel safe and can get down to getting what you need to work through your PTSD. Being around others that also struggle and understand is a help as well. However, it is important to understand that other people will be struggling too and may show their challenges as well. As time passes and each person makes gains, it will be "easier" to see when others are struggling and offer support and understanding to them as they continue to make efforts to keep gaining as well. That is why I started this thread about this challenging area of PTSD that has to do with boundaries. It is a good way for us to share and support with this very difficult challenge. So far it has been nice to see how we are all making efforts to support each other with this very real struggle with how to "protect our personal boundaries". So anyone who may be struggling is very welcome to talk about their personal challenges in this area. It is all about "learning" for each of us and "thats ok".

Open Eyes