Living with complex PTSD has shaped every corner of my life. It’s not just about past trauma. It’s the way my body stays braced for disaster, even in calm moments. It’s how I shrink myself to make others comfortable, how certain words or looks send me spiraling without warning, and how hard it is to trust that safety can last. C-PTSD is a landscape of emotional flashbacks, shame spirals, people-pleasing, and a constant undercurrent of “something’s wrong with me.” But I’ve come to understand that these responses were never weaknesses. They were how I survived. It took years to stop blaming myself. To stop thinking I was broken. Through therapy, inner work, and brutal honesty, I’ve slowly learned how to come home to myself. I still carry the echoes, but I also carry tools, compassion, and the ability to hold space for others walking this path. I’m not here to fix you. I’m here to sit with you in it.