MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT - A SURVIVORS STORY
October 20, 2013 my world changed forever due to a very traumatic event in my life. I woke up that morning to a gun pointed my direction. My husband shot me 6 times in my torso area and then committed suicide. I immediately went into fight or flight mode and drove over a mile to seek help. Was med flighted to a trauma hospital and spent 7 days in a medical induced coma and went through three surgeries, then was moved to a regular room and on to a skilled therapy center for two weeks.
Before I was released from the therapy rehab center, I was made to promise to get an appointment with a doctor to help me deal with the emotional and mental effects of the traumatic event. I was very leery of psychiatrists or therapists as they had not helped my husband in my opinion and so they would never be able to help me. A friend recommended Open Arms Behavior Center in Lawton to me and I reluctantly called and started the process of becoming a client. I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression.
From the moment of the phone call, as I didn’t like telling why I needed to be seen, I was treated with respect and a caring attitude from the staff. Every time I went to be seen, I was greeted and felt like my privacy was respected.
There were visits of once every week, 2 times a week and sometimes every day for two weeks, but I felt like for the most part I was in control of the decisions on when I needed to be seen with guidance from my counselor.
I had to work through some tough events but with his guidance I made it. We discussed everything from my childhood to what brought me to that event. He helped me overcome fears and to learn to trust people again. I had homework and most of the time I didn’t want to do it but I did and it may have hurt while participating, in the long run it made things being put in perspective in life and learning some coping skills when life wasn’t the way I thought it should be working out.
After some time, I felt as it was time that I could cope on my own so I discontinued my visits at the clinic. But when life started kicking me again and I felt as I was losing control – one phone call to the clinic and I was right back where I felt I needed to be.
All the doubts about therapy not working have gone away - as I am a firm believer that seeking help for your mental health is just as important as seeking help for physical health.