......People who experience posttraumatic stress have not asked for it. They may not be more predisposed or more vulnerable to it than others are. We all share a physiological response to trauma, but each of us has individual sensitivities and when they have been affected, the results are uniquely personal. No one is excluded from being affected by severe trauma.

      Symptoms may be so extreme that they are considered to be pathological. Symptoms can keep you safe because they can tell you about your environment. Symptoms can be approached as a vehicle to healing from injury, because they help you to see in what manner and to what extent you have been injured. Seeing yourself as an injured person probably won't come easily or automatically.

      When you're injured, you're vulnerable. You must remain safe because if not safe, the organism might not survive. Every day brings with it potential for triggers, flashbacks, and more vulnerability. It's double jeopardy. Thankfully, countless people have been helped by methods utilized by health care professionals and by knowledge from research, and that continues.

      Symptoms can be subtle and can crop up in ways that might be difficult to recognize. There's a tendency toward a sort of Weltschmerz, and it's easy to blow situations out of proportion. Remembering what was pre-trauma and seeing what is post-trauma might be the only way to recognize a symptom, and in that case it's important to be brutally honest so there are no missed opportunities. Your self knows.