9/11 in 2018

Yesterday was the first 9/11 I didn’t feel angry or depressed since that fateful day.  I’m still having trouble sleeping without Penny right next to me.  Each night I try letting her sleep by herself, but eventually call her over.  And I realize I still have a hard time concentrating on one writing task for … Continue reading9/11 in 2018

You Can Fight for Disability Justice Too

The one positive aspect of PTSD’s hypervigilance is the ability to turn the energy into something positive.  I think many people who have faced trauma involving a threat to life become activists.  I certainly have, and I want to encourage more people to become activists.  This does not necessarily mean attending rallies or marching in … Continue readingYou Can Fight for Disability Justice Too

The Difference Between Emotional Support and Service Animals

On one airline’s website, which I checked before booking a flight, the text differentiates between emotional support animals, “psychiatric service” animals, and service animals for more obvious needs such as sight and hearing assistance.  The webpage grouped emotional support and psychiatric service animals together.  This troubled me, because according to the ADA, there is no … Continue readingThe Difference Between Emotional Support and Service Animals

Hypervigilance and Why Motorcycles

Being a New Yorker, one learns to be direct in conversation and say what one thinks without concern.  With hypervigilance, this directness has an added emotional element.  BUT to a person with PTSD this element of emotion may not feel loaded with emotion.  In fact, the person with PTSD may not even realize emotion is … Continue readingHypervigilance and Why Motorcycles

The Neurological Disability of PTSD

Many people with PTSD refuse to admit that it can be a disability.  But there is biological evidence indicating how it can be.  Trauma affecting the brain that has experienced previous traumas undergo a change in brain structure.  Namely, the hippocampus decreases in size.  While researchers do not yet know why the hippocampus shrinks, there … Continue readingThe Neurological Disability of PTSD