A woman with complex PTSD, severe anxiety, and agoraphobia describes her recovery from suicidal thoughts and self-harm. She stopped having panic attacks, lost 20 pounds, and went from leaving home once a month to going out daily. Dancing became central to her healing.
I was suicidal. I had been cutting. I tried to overdose on Tylenol. I was just about as low as you could get. I am diagnosed CPTSD, PTSD, anxiety, and agoraphobia because I never left the house. Like, literally, I would leave the house maybe once or twice a month, and that's it. I thought, you know, nobody needs me. They wouldn't even care if I was gone. I'm just a failure anyway. I was traumatized for about 20 years. How does somebody get past that? Now the difference is I don't have suicidal thoughts anymore, ever. I haven't had a panic attack. I have lost about 20 pounds and I am still going. I took up dancing because that is what I love. I had to have my headphones in to kind of block out everything around me. I don't need them anymore. I'm a woman that's gonna go out there every single day and kick ass. That's who I am now.
