The William Aldridge Foundation

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

A poem shared by a dear friend who describes so eloquently the silent anguish and pain an ever increasing number of sufferers relate to...

PTSD A Collection of letters,
Platitudes given, with hopes of getting better,
They cannot see how hard i try,
Living behind a mask, I live a lie,

Behind closed doors an outpouring of sadness,
Unrestrained, uncontained I yield to the madness,
I am broken you see, I cannot be fixed,
My emotions, ideas, my thoughts ina mix,

PTSD it cost me my life,
My daughter her mother, my husband his wife,
The pills and the drink they numb the pain,
For a short while at least, then it all starts again,

Desperation is felt and worn like a shroud,
A faceless victim lost in the crowd,
PTSD letters not to underestimate,
It says all it needs about my mental state,

I'm killing myself slowly, I know that it's true,
The only plus is that i'll be with you,
I have tried to numb the pain again and again,
Tried to keep it together, tried to stay sane,

It's a fight to the end, a battle i'll have lost,
I will have paid the ultimate cost,
So one more time my family will suffer,
They will have to endure the loss of yet another.


Copyright Sarah Chapman 2011

Useful link for support to PTSD sufferers: www.talking2minds.co.uk/