I was really honored to get this piece in my inbox.  The artist wishes to remain anonymous.   I absolutely respect my contributors’ privacy.  Anyone can contact me at alexcateye [at] msn [.] com.  I’m always available to talk.  Don’t be afraid to share!

 shhh

I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to being assaulted when I was a kid. Things have been under control for a long time, but due to recent stressful events in my life, I’ve been experiencing symptoms again and started seeing a therapist to deal with it.

One of the problems that recurring is a reaction to certain auditory cues. Sometimes when I hear things that were said during the assault, I get anxious or have a flashback, if only for a split second. My therapist found out about my hobby and suggested that I stitch the words that have power over me as a way to get the control back from them. I decided to try to contain a word with stitches. I decided to start with shhh.

I’m not sure if I’m going to continue or not. I feel like it actually makes me think about things more than I really want to.

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