[Beelzebore92]

Hello,

Today marks 10 months since my workplace injury and 13 months since a preceding head injury, which together upended my life and shipped me along on this hellish road most or all of us have come to know. I'm pleased to write that as far as I can tell, the worst is over.

Though of course I still experience daily symptoms and have incredible limitations on what I can safely and comfortably do, I'm finding that for the first time in nearly a year, I actually experience lasting moments of peace, and sometimes, even joy. Slowly but surely, the weight of pain and of mental chaos is lifting. Week by week and month by month, I find within myself more and more available energy, and fewer instances of panic and despair.

I want to express gratitude for the people of this site. I'm grateful to anyone who has shared their story or taken interest in each other's stories on the forum. Early on, when I knew nothing and when every day was one prolonged fight-or-flight nightmare, it made all the difference to be able to read someone else's struggle. Knowing who was out there relieved some of the desolation, and empowered me enough to continue living. There was a sense of unity and of understanding I could not have gotten from my family, or from the few crony doctors I visited, who were all as freaked and confused as I was most of the time. That, or utterly distant and disinterested.

Lastly, I am grateful to those who offered reassurance on my panic posts. To have someone willing to engage and respond— to get their hands dirty so to speak— during those all too frequent mental crises probably saved me a half a dozen hospital visits. Those calls for help were answered here.

So to those still crawling through hell, I can now say from experience that you will at some point come to an oasis. I can't say when exactly, but it will happen. And though I can't attest to anything like a 100% recovery, I can attest that there is a path through, and away from your present misery.