“When I was 15 years old, I was hit by a car. After my physical recovery, I noticed that I was scared of the smallest things. I was even scared to cross the street alone. I feared my life, and was not expressing my thoughts to anyone. I was getting nightmares and flashbacks of the incident. When I turned 16, I was already in High school. I was being bullied for countless reasons. Wearing a headscarf was one of them. But I was always smiling. I felt that the best way to express my feelings was to take them out on myself. They were negative emotions so they lead to negative results. I was harming myself both physically and mentally. I think it was my junior year of High school where I was doing things to keep me awake to prevent nightmares, and consuming substances I had no business in taking. Eventually, when my mom found out what I was doing, I was sent to doctors, therapists, and later, to a rehabilitative center. I was there for 2 weeks. I would attend sessions with other people who have different personal problems. There I was diagnosed with PTSD at it’s primary stages. After my time at Rehab, I needed time to readapt. But I was at a great recovery stage. I would still attend therapy, but not as often.

I’m 22 years old now. I am unable to say that I completely recovered, but I discovered a new person in me who is more caring, sensitive, and happy. There are times where I can be over sensitive, but that is all part of the process. I’m happy. But I learned that a lot of people are not, which deeply upsets me.  Some people just don’t understand what others are going through, and that’s okay, but they say anything to anyone at anytime, and that’s not always okay. I can be fighting a battle inside, so unless you stepped in my shoes, don’t assume anything about me. People say I care too much, but I say that I care enough, because I have no idea what others are going through, and they don’t know what I went through. I’m thankful for what I’ve been through and what I’ve learned., and I have learned a lot. ”

Name: Anonymous