hey caroline!

i've had tourette syndrome since i was 5.

i also started having panic attacks around age 19, i was pretty sure i had ptsd because when i started working at a fast food place after high school, i was robbed at gunpoint 3 times in a year.

i tried about 15 meds between ages 30-35 (after i was done having babies), to find a cure for my ts. when i tried klonopin, my panic attacks stopped for a long time, but i have chronic anxiety. i still have an occasional panic attack, but only maybe once a year.

so, going back to therapy about 12 years ago when my mom was dying from alzheimer's dementia, i found out my diagnosis was complex/ptsd, which is trauma caused over a long period of time usually childhood. i was subjected to verbal, emotional and physical abuse during childhood.

one thing that has always been part of me is that i am a really optimistic person and i am filled with gratitude for all the good things in my life. i have 3 children who have grown into fine adults. i have friends. i have gardening, which grounds me and gives me peace and i've had 3 wonderful therapists who have helped me learn how to deal with my feelings. and last, but not leart, i have forums, like this which let me receive and give support, something i think is important...to give when you can!

thank you for asking, caroline,
jeannie