Hello. I am a man, recently divorced from a 16 year abusive marriage. I have been doing a lot of reading and studying that I never would have done while I was married. I have PTSD, and it is complex. My mother died when I was 4, leaving 5 children who were "raised" in chaos. The "wild children" we were called. Since my divorce, I am coming to a new understanding of what coming out of the fog is all about. My life has changed. I am healthier. People tell me I look better. I looked all puffy when I was married. I am meeting w a counselor to discuss issues. I am staying away from my ex. Work is going so much better. I can concentrate. But the feelings are hard to shake. And it is all starting to make sense. I don't have much of a support network to talk about this. Hopefully, I am finally getting to the heart of the matter, and I have come to the right place.
Hi Sandman, and welcome. I'm glad to hear that you're so much better now that you're out of your abusive marriage. It happened to me too, when I moved away from my family of origin. It was awesome, like waking up after a bad dream and finding that there's fresh air and sunshine outside. If you're free from jerks and abusers, you have a much greater chance to heal. So I wish all the best to you, and I hope you'll find something helpful here.
Welcome, Sandman and I am glad you found this forum. There are many opportunities to give and receive help here, and the people are caring and considerate. Good for you that you are coming out of the fog and staying away from toxic people.
Hi Sandman :wave:and a very warm welcome to OOTS! :hug: Did you find your way here via Out of the Fog by chance? You mentioned coming out of the fog so I thought perhaps you had spent some time there. I did and it was enormously helpful in my recovery - that distancing you talk about has helped so much!
Anyway, glad you here and I hope you find this board helpful. ;D