“I am not my trauma. I am not my disorder”

As a child, I used to throw screaming fits when someone would touch me. I have bipolar disorder type 1 with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I came from an abusive home, of which the adults were meth users. My dad and his wife, who would become my mom, took me in when I was about nine years.

I spent years blaming myself for the events that unfolded. It was not my fault and I couldn’t have done anything; I was a child. Throughout the years, my rapid mood swings, between really up feelings and very depressed, went ignored. I was told “stop your stupidity”, “you’re being so dramatic”, and “get over it”. I felt isolated, alone.

It gets better. Life gets better. I am in therapy and have medication to help my mental health symptoms. I live a good life, despite a hard beginning. I work everyday to better myself. I am not my trauma. I am not my disorder.