T
ThePayingRoomate
Active member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2009
- Messages
- 41
Being new here and after reading through some posts already, I figure I should toss out my story so folks who see any of my replies or posts can see where I'm coming from. Within minutes of registering I found a post that I could instantly relate to and posted a reply describing my related experiences... and realizing after posting it I've never been so honest and frank with anyone beyond my shrinks in talking about it. I had a moment of feeling free from the cage of "mental illness." And it didn't cost me a dime!
I hope I can join this little community and help others get that same feeling as well as find folks that I can talk to as peers on issues that normally just scare the bejezus out of most folks.
A roommate just yelled to get on with the introduction already. So here it goes:
Prior to September 11th I was your typical engineering student. Looking forward to big money and big debt after graduation in a challenging field of computer electronics (mainly chip design). After that day I got a patriotic bug that convinced me to put that on hold and do something more meaningful for my country in a time of need... and also help with keeping the college debt lower, win-win. I enlisted in the Navy, just as my dad had done before me and was set to help win the "War on Terror!" That idea got crushed, along with my head during a training accident several months later with an immediate seizure and drowning to go with it.
After being revived my world was never the same. My brain apparently, if you believe the paid professionals, went into some dramatic over-protective state to deal with the events that occurred and also began misfiring in areas dealing with how I perceived the world around me. In their terms it came down to a list of acronyms... ASD (Acute Stress Disorder... a precursor to PTSD), PCS (Post Concussion Syndrome or Postconcussive disorder depending on if you're a shrink or a medical doc), and PCSD (Partial-Complex Seizure Disorder).
In layman's terms I ended up panicking around all sorts of things that reminded me of the accident, suffering debilitating headaches, dizziness, and such, as well as meeting new "friends" of sorts that kept popping up to talk to me, about me, or generally screw around with me.
Those new "friends" have since been dubbed "the roommates" after years of coping with my new situation while waiting for years for my VA disability claim to go through to get treatment. Calling them "roommates" was my way of getting around sounding like a psycho when discussing my problems with friends in public, and the label just sort of stuck and I began using it even when I didn't even have to hide the exact nature of my conversations.
Long story short (I know, too late, right?) when the headaches aren't so bad, the roommates are less chatty... when the headaches get worse they can manifest in more dramatic fashion, including visually.
For years I tried to work, first in normal jobs, then later as a my own boss doing computer repair where I could set my schedule as best I could around my medical problems... but always with limited success. I hid my problems, as best I could, from almost everyone... and the ones who did know, I still kept in the dark about the magnitude of what I was dealing with, both out of embarrassment and to avoid further job loss or social isolation.
My VA claim finally was approved years later and I am finally receiving treatment and compensation for my injuries, which helps a great deal. I've developed a lot of my own coping mechanisms by now, though I've also probably developed a lot of bad habits in avoidance that I'm still trying to deal with as well (probably most profoundly with the PTSD than anything else).
I was actually referred to this site by my VA psychologist and therapist and who I continue to see and value for pushing me when I need to be pushed and understanding when I need someone to simply understand. She's a true diamond in the rough when it comes to shrinks based on my personal experience and the experiences I've heard of others, and on that note I feel truly blessed (which coming from a heathen like me, is saying something).
Another roommate is growling about shutting up already. Apparently I'm too long winded for the voices in my head. I normally try to ignore them as much as humanly possible, but as many of you are probably fully aware, that's easier said than done.
You can only imagine the comment that statement evoked. Ha!
Anyhoo... that's my story, and I thought I should share. Thanks for listening, and I look forward to our future discussions.
- The Paying Roomate
I hope I can join this little community and help others get that same feeling as well as find folks that I can talk to as peers on issues that normally just scare the bejezus out of most folks.
A roommate just yelled to get on with the introduction already. So here it goes:
Prior to September 11th I was your typical engineering student. Looking forward to big money and big debt after graduation in a challenging field of computer electronics (mainly chip design). After that day I got a patriotic bug that convinced me to put that on hold and do something more meaningful for my country in a time of need... and also help with keeping the college debt lower, win-win. I enlisted in the Navy, just as my dad had done before me and was set to help win the "War on Terror!" That idea got crushed, along with my head during a training accident several months later with an immediate seizure and drowning to go with it.
After being revived my world was never the same. My brain apparently, if you believe the paid professionals, went into some dramatic over-protective state to deal with the events that occurred and also began misfiring in areas dealing with how I perceived the world around me. In their terms it came down to a list of acronyms... ASD (Acute Stress Disorder... a precursor to PTSD), PCS (Post Concussion Syndrome or Postconcussive disorder depending on if you're a shrink or a medical doc), and PCSD (Partial-Complex Seizure Disorder).
In layman's terms I ended up panicking around all sorts of things that reminded me of the accident, suffering debilitating headaches, dizziness, and such, as well as meeting new "friends" of sorts that kept popping up to talk to me, about me, or generally screw around with me.
Those new "friends" have since been dubbed "the roommates" after years of coping with my new situation while waiting for years for my VA disability claim to go through to get treatment. Calling them "roommates" was my way of getting around sounding like a psycho when discussing my problems with friends in public, and the label just sort of stuck and I began using it even when I didn't even have to hide the exact nature of my conversations.
Long story short (I know, too late, right?) when the headaches aren't so bad, the roommates are less chatty... when the headaches get worse they can manifest in more dramatic fashion, including visually.
For years I tried to work, first in normal jobs, then later as a my own boss doing computer repair where I could set my schedule as best I could around my medical problems... but always with limited success. I hid my problems, as best I could, from almost everyone... and the ones who did know, I still kept in the dark about the magnitude of what I was dealing with, both out of embarrassment and to avoid further job loss or social isolation.
My VA claim finally was approved years later and I am finally receiving treatment and compensation for my injuries, which helps a great deal. I've developed a lot of my own coping mechanisms by now, though I've also probably developed a lot of bad habits in avoidance that I'm still trying to deal with as well (probably most profoundly with the PTSD than anything else).
I was actually referred to this site by my VA psychologist and therapist and who I continue to see and value for pushing me when I need to be pushed and understanding when I need someone to simply understand. She's a true diamond in the rough when it comes to shrinks based on my personal experience and the experiences I've heard of others, and on that note I feel truly blessed (which coming from a heathen like me, is saying something).
Another roommate is growling about shutting up already. Apparently I'm too long winded for the voices in my head. I normally try to ignore them as much as humanly possible, but as many of you are probably fully aware, that's easier said than done.
You can only imagine the comment that statement evoked. Ha!
Anyhoo... that's my story, and I thought I should share. Thanks for listening, and I look forward to our future discussions.
- The Paying Roomate