Reflections: Trolls

Photo courtesy of Northern Exposures

In my recent posts I've been describing PTSD as a troll that hides in the shadows and frightens us. I'd like to take a moment to reflect on that metaphor.

photo courtesy of Flickr

Trolls have gotten a bad rap but I don't think they're all bad. There are the trolls that appear in the Hobbit, they're bad, they want to eat you. There are the trolls that appear on Facebook, they're bad too, and I think they might also want to eat you. But then there are the trolls like PTSD, and mental illness, the little things in our lives that hide in the shadows and tell us to be afraid of them. In reality we don't need to be afraid of them, we just need to make friends with them because these trolls, when properly understood won't eat us, they'll help us grow. They'll help us to be more self-aware, mature, and independent and those things are all so good for us.

Welcome those trolls, embrace them because they are what make you unique and let them help you grow to be stronger. Step on the other ones.

It is my goal to end the stigma that comes with PTSD. I blog about PTSD once a week, searching the mountains of information out there and bringing you the best of what I find. I review a book on PTSD every other week. And I publish a weekly encouraging reflection and tweet encouraging quotes for PTSD survivors daily, follow me to be encouraged. Together we can make a difference.

When I'm not blogging about PTSD or trying to encourage those of you living with it I'm an author. I write romance. I just finished my first book and I am revising and editing it. With any luck it will be published later this year, in the meantime you can get a sample of my work on the web for free. Original work can be found here, and fanfiction can be found here. Let me know what you think, and tell me how you found me!