Identity

I'm participating in a PTSD research study looking at the concept of self / identity as it relates to PTSD. It made me start thinking about how my sense of identity has helped or hindered my ability to learn how to cope with this disease.



In some ways, I think I was pretty lucky to have PTSD strike me during my daughter's birth. There's a huge change in identity that comes from having that squalling child placed on your belly. You're not just responsible for you anymore, you're responsible for that little person as well. For a lot of people, just that change from individual to parent can change your concept of identity. You're never quite the same person that you were. For me, those changes were just more extreme due to the PTSD.

It's also made it easier to accept that I will never be the person I was before this happened. It was easier once I realized that just by giving birth I wasn't supposed to be the same person I was before. It's much easier to accept the more extreme changes once you accept the basic ones.