Dear Thick, I am so sorry you had such an upsetting experience. One thing I would like you to remember: You are not on the cover of a tabloid. You really can look people in the face. Your life story has not been broadcast all over the place. People cannot look at you and know any of the things you don't want them to know.

I have PTSD. Well ... just a little now, because I've been working on it. I was a victim in a crime that made national headlines. The tabloids did find me and chased me down. Everyone who watched news or read the paper or tabloids knew what happened. False speculation followed me everywhere.

It took me a while to hold my head up high. To say, "Eff 'em if they don't like it." As soon as I held my head up, looked people in the eye, and even smiled at them, they were the ones who started looking down at the ground.

What I went through was terrible. But I am not a terrible person. The people who chased me for stories were not terrible people, just insensitive. The people who pried and poked at your psyche in the hospital were not terrible people, just insensitive to what you really needed.

When I decided to forgive people for acting like A..holes toward me, I started getting better. It took me at least two years to work through letting go of my anger and fear and the feeling that everyone could look right inside me and see my pain. They couldn't. That's one of the biggest problems. People are really blind about what others are suffering and that's one of the main reasons they stumble around acting insensitive.

The terrible thing that happened to me took a big chunk of my life. I decided to not give it anymore of my life by hanging onto my rage and fear and shame. That kept me prisoner. Letting go of it freed me. So, eff the insensitive psyche ward workers. Don't give them any more of your life. Eff 'em and forgive them for acting like clods. Then hold your head high and remember that even though terrible things happened in your life, you are not a terrible person. You have the right to get better and feel better. It begins when you decide to hold your head up. Take a deep breath and try it. It'll take practice, but slowly it will feel okay to accept yourself and to forgive those who did not understand your pain.

You will be in my prayers.