Healing from trauma I did not know I was carrying

I did not come to Mindincare thinking I had PTSD. I came because I could not sleep, I was snapping at everyone I loved, and I felt a constant sense of dread that I could not explain.

I had experienced something very difficult in my early twenties — something I had never spoken about to anyone. I had convinced myself I was "fine" because I had functioned for years since then. What I did not realise was how much energy I was spending every single day keeping that door closed.

Dr. Sana was the first person I had ever told. She created a space where I felt completely safe — no pressure, no judgement. She explained that what I was experiencing had a name: C-PTSD, or complex trauma. My symptoms were not a character flaw. They were a completely understandable response to something overwhelming.

We did EMDR therapy. I was sceptical at first — it felt strange. But session by session, I noticed that the memory that had felt like a raw wound began to feel more like a scar. Still there, but no longer bleeding.

Eleven months in, I feel like myself again. I sleep. I am present with the people I love. I still have difficult days — but they are days, not a permanent state.

I would say to anyone carrying something they have never told anyone: the door does not have to stay closed. There is help on the other side of it.