[Trace14]

Just saw this on a PTSD site and found it interesting.

If you could write a note to your younger self, what would you say in only two words?

[carrie_ann]

in only two words is difficult but here goes ...

pre-school ... "come out" - i spent most all my time hiding out just in case my father would come by or notice me.

5-11 year old ... "shut up" - i'd learned to answer back when my father abused me but most of it involved the f-word which maybe made his temper worse.

teens ... "chill out" - like every man was "the enemy" and i could be a handful to put it politely.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by carrie_ann

in only two words is difficult but here goes ...

pre-school ... "come out" - i spent most all my time hiding out just in case my father would come by or notice me.

5-11 year old ... "shut up" - i'd learned to answer back when my father abused me but most of it involved the f-word which maybe made his temper worse.

teens ... "chill out" - like every man was "the enemy" and i could be a handful to put it politely.

It is difficult to do in two words. Good job though. If I had said the f-word I would have probably been dead.

[reb569]

Hmm. After thinking about it for awhile, I have come down to this: "get help". It fits nearly every stage of my life, but for different reasons at different times.

[porcelainboy]

"Tell someone."

[nyc artist]

Originally Posted by porcelainboy

"Tell someone."

Me too. As a child and now as an adult. I have too many secrets.

[LostOnTheTrail]

'Get out'

I feel that the situation I am recovering from could have been avoided if I had only walked away when I had the chance.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by reb569

Hmm. After thinking about it for awhile, I have come down to this: "get help". It fits nearly every stage of my life, but for different reasons at different times.

If we only knew back then what we know now, eh? Good answer though.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by porcelainboy

"Tell someone."

Good answer.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by nyc artist

Me too. As a child and now as an adult. I have too many secrets.

I agree, that answer was really good. I hope we can feel a sense of freedom when we release these secrets.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by LostOnTheTrail

'Get out'

I feel that the situation I am recovering from could have been avoided if I had only walked away when I had the chance.

Good answer, it might have been avoided, or it might have been something worse. I've found that it's best to deal with what we know involving trauma and be thankful we survived.

[Trace14]

For me this is hard because I don't think there are two words that could have benefited me as a child. All the words I've come up with would have had dire consequences for me. But as an adult "Open up" may have worked have worked.

[Raindropvampire]

Speak up. Maybe if one of us kids had then there would still be three of us. But who knows maybe we just would have gone to a worse place

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by Raindropvampire

Speak up. Maybe if one of us kids had then there would still be three of us. But who knows maybe we just would have gone to a worse place

So sorry for your loss.

[Open Eyes]

I would sit my parents down and tell them how badly my older brother is being treated on the bus and in school and how that upsets me deeply.

I don't know if anything would have been done back then because things were very different 50 plus years ago.