YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hey everyone, I'm a long time listener of the show and just joined the forum today. I'm mostly curious about people's experiences with being an adult survivor of child abuse. I feel like I've mostly overcome the depression and anxiety, feeling much better than I ever have, but I find it difficult to relate to others sometimes. Mostly in how and when to share the dark parts of my story when I'm building friendships or while dating. I want to share about my background, but I worry that I make others uncomfortable if/when it comes up. Any suggestions about threads I should check out about this, or advice anyone cares to offer would be much appreciated!

Hi and welcome.

Those are issues I'm dealing with myself.

I'm not quite ready to date just yet, but through telling my story in "safe company," I've come to terms with my background and struggles. It's been easier to tell my story without being overwhelmed by pain and anguish. I've also become more focused on the positives, defining myself by my hobbies, activities and the things I enjoy. My anxiety is still a part of me, but only a part of me. My fear might always be there, but I'm practicing making room for my likes and loves too.

Thanks for the welcome and reply. I've also been trying to focus more on other (positive) aspects of myself and my interests, and I suspect this will become easier over time. I guess I'm still learning how to do that, but I'm sure it just takes practice (like most things). Good to know there's someone else out there working on this too.