PTSD - fighting back with tattoo ink

In the past couple of months, my PTSD symptoms have worsened. I got this tattoo last Friday. The tattoo names the three locations that were the main contributors to my PTSD - Iraq, Aceh (the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami) and Bali (the 2002 Bali bombings).

But it’s the words underneath that right now are the most important. Fight Back.

Therapy, medication, support from family, friends and your employer (if you’re lucky like me to have one) are important. So are things such as exercise, yoga, meditation, mindfulness or whatever works for you. Journaling is also crucial, I believe.

Be passive and PTSD will eat you alive. 

For me, this tattoo is one way of trying to manage my PTSD. I will see it every day. It will motivate me. Fight Back. ■