Transcript
I finally stepped forward and took the step
when I found a counselor at the VA that was willing to
step forward and help me and meet me where I was at.
Instead of going to the mental health building,
she would come and meet me in the women's center,
where it was more private, and it was less out in the open.
And then through treatment,
through going and getting counseling there,
then I was able to go over to the mental health building.
And I still was not ready to fully come out,
and I would have my counselor come and meet me
right in the lobby, right at that moment of my appointment,
and then we would go right up, so I wouldn't have to sit
with everybody in the lobby or stand in the long line that
you have to stand in when you go to the mental health building.
And then after going a couple times and doing that
for three or four months, I was able to get past
my own stigma that I had put on myself
and was able to go into the mental health building,
sit with everybody else, and then she came down,
and I went up and got help.
It's been a long process.
It's hard to step out of the shell when you have PTSD
because you're dealing with something that is so personal
and so hard to share with other people.