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By Charlene Rubush, September 10, 2010 10:55 pm

One of the hardest aspects I faced of dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder years ago, was the feeling of being alone. Plus the disorder didn’t even have a name. While I knew on a gut level something was terribly wrong with my life, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. There was a vague sense of unease and invariably, as I would drive to work in the mornings, I noticed a tightness in my forehead that was very disconcerting.

It was many years later, before I learned that the tightness I’d been experiencing was a sign of depression. I had no one to talk to about what I was experiencing. So I tried to ignore the way I was feeling, and just “suck it up.” It was a difficult way to try and function through daily life.

Today there is such an abundance of knowledge, and of course, much of that knowledge is shared within support groups. Meetup.com can help you find a support group for dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress. If one doesn’t exist in your area, you might want to consider starting your own.

Here is some information on the network from their site:

“Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

Meetup’s mission is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.”

Meetup helps people connect with various interests. It doesn’t have to be PTSD. That’s just one option. To learn more, go to:

http://www.meetup.com

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By Charlene Rubush, March 6, 2010 5:46 pm

I just found this organization today. Taryn Davis, just 23 years young, was looking forward to a happy life with her soul mate, Michael. Then on May 1, 2007, her dreams of their future life together, died. Michael had been killed by a series of roadside bombs just an hour and a half after they’d last spoken.

Lost and alone in the new world she was thrust into, Taryn began traveling around the country to hear other women’s stories of love, tragedy, and survival. She hoped to learn more about her new title, that of a “military widow.” Those first steps in adjusting to her new life, have resulted in a non-profit corporation, a 75 minute documentary film, and a growing website. She has embraced her new life with enthusiam and passion.

Her mission statement reads “ The American Widow Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter … Military Widow to Military Widow.” Continue reading 'The American Widow Project Offers Hope, Solace, and Sisterhood'»