Sharing is Caring, and I care about YOU

Sometimes....
especially at the beginning of a diagnosis, it's hard to accept the acronym that someone has branded you with. "PTSD, MDD, OCD, HMI, HWV, MICA, ADHD" and a host of other letters. Sometimes that's a lot to take in.

All in all, the letters only mean something if they mean something to You. It's hard to be labeled by another person. Just like it was back in high school. The band geek, or the Jock, the cheerleader and the chess player. The drama club and the gangsta. The nerd and the prepster, the stoner, the lifer, the untouchable. Many of us have been labeled with something.

Just as a side note during part of High school I was a band nerd, but in my heart I was a popular cheerleader. Only I never tried out for the squad.

Sometimes it feels so hopeless when someone labels you. You want to yell out. "That's not me!" Sometimes people may look at you like you've done something wrong, and just keep praying and it will get better.

No
let me caps that
NO
Nope, not the case! No ifs ans or buts about it. The letters only mean something if you ascribe a negative thought to it.

The nice thing is, it's not like you are a slave to these letters. The diagnosing clinician did not pick up sentencing gavel and say, "OK, now hold out your forearm while we brand these letters into the flesh of your upper arm for the world to see. We will press extra hard to make sure they sere into your soul." (sarcastically)

Ptsd may suck, Let me take that back. PTSD does suck, and it may feel like you've been branded. The scars on your heart are real, make no mistake about that! But the invisible ones we have branded on our self esteems are just that. Invisible. They may show up in red or black, but in real life they don't exist.

They are adjectives! A word used to describe something. These letters do not make up a noun. YOU are a noun!

Love heals everything. If you don't believe me, hold a peacefully sleeping baby on your chest and just breath. Feel their heartbeat right next to yours. The love practically permeates your skin. Through whatever defenses you've put up. Smile and CRY dammit! Let somebody hug you. it's OK to cry.
It's OK to feel something. It's OK to be loved!
You deserve to be loved.

and you are...

sharing is caring and I care about YOU.