Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I’d like to think
I’m just like
anyone else,
that we all have limits…
There’s only so much
we can take…
So much of what?
Pain… Fear… Loss… Trauma.
There’s only so much
any of us can experience
and remain sane
and remain true to
our ideals, our values,
who we are and
the person we’ve become -
When the pain,
the fear, the trauma
exceeds this,
We snap
and for a while
we may escape
go away to some place
in our mind
some place
outside reality…
maybe we come back
and then again
maybe we don’t.

By Bruce Whealton
November 18, 2009