On my journey to PTSD recovery, one of the first distress techniques that my therapist taught me was meditation. When he suggested it, my first thought was, "You've got to be kidding me!" My mind and body were always racing, how was I supposed to slow down far and long enough to meditate?

That pesky conundrum: to forgive or not to forgive in PTSD recovery? I recently interviewed a psychologist who had a terrific approach to forgiveness. She said that it can be done at any time according to any process dependent on the perspective of the survivor. Why do I love that position? Because unlike others who say, "You must forgive before you can heal!" it leaves the decision in the hands of the person in which it belongs: you.

During my own PTSD decades (yes, I struggled for 25+ years!), one of the toughest things for me was having to be around other people when I felt horrible, depressed, anxious, angry, sleep-deprived and just generally dysfunctional.

After trauma it's very typical to feel completely disconnected from yourself, others and the world. We live in what I call 'default mode': We respond and react instead of create and act. Why is that a problem? Because one of the hallmarks of PTSD is a sense of powerlessness.

If you're one of over 24 million people in the US who struggle with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder then you probably know exactly what it feels like to dissociate. When a situation, emotions or triggers cause you to feel overwhelmed, anxious, frozen or terrified the mind offers a typical (and really fantastic) coping mechanism: you go somewhere else in your head. While dissociating can be a life-preserving response it can become a habit that severely inhibits PTSD recovery efforts. Part of healing means learning to become more present.

Here's the funny thing about the PTSD experience: Uncomfortable emotions become so familiar you don't even notice that you have them! For example, in my own recovery, it wasn't until the anxiety disappeared that I realized I'd been living in such a state of high anxiety. Why is that??

If you struggle with PTSD, then you're no stranger to thoughts about how you could die by suicide to end your pain and anguish. Even the strongest and most resilient person may have moments so challenging the best idea seems to be death. Although you may sink to that dark space, there is a way to pull yourself out, away from thoughts of suicide.

In my work with PTSD clients, we bump up a lot against "I feel so disconnected from myself!" and "I feel so very separate from the world!" In my own PTSD experience, I too felt a big break between my experience of reality and my connection to myself and my body.

When I was thirteen, I survived an illness so rare none of my New York City doctors had ever seen a case. An allergic reaction to a medication brought on a case of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome, which turned me into a full-body burn patient almost overnight. By the time I was released from the hospital, I had lost 100% of my epidermis.