I was bullied badly as well and I have ptsd. I'd say mine is pretty severe for the bullying I went through because it plays a huge role in my life. It makes me very upset that people who are supposed to love you are trying to diminish the way you feel. It isn't just bullying. 1. Not everyone goes through severe bullying. There is a difference between constant bullying for years and years and years and getting a comment or two made periodically. 2. No one gets to tell another person how they experienced their traumas or experiences. No one gets to tell another person how they should feel. Everyone is different. Therefore, everyone processes things differently. What May traumatize one, may not traumatize another. 3. You should continue to seek professional help. I'm not sure how old you are, but it doesn't ever just go away. Even if you think it's passed, all it takes is one trigger and it'll set you back. It's good to have a professional support system as well. 4. There isn't anything wrong with PTSD. it happens. Everyone's ptsd is also a little different. Most people think PTSD is just war related or SA related. However, there are different types of ptsd. c-ptsd is complex ptsd and is developed over a long time span of trauma, I.E bullying. There is a lot of info on this and also a lot of info on how bullying creates ptsd. I think the people in your life need to get educated on mental health before they give out opinions. As for you, you need to work on accepting all of these parts of yourself. The things you went through have made you who you are or are in the process of making you who you're meant to be. Just depends on how you chose to let this stuff define you! Being bullied could actually be one of the most empowering things. If you'd like to talk more about this stuff please feel free to message me. I feel like I went through my bullying for so many reasons and one of those is just to be able to help people. :)

Thank you and you are right, I'm still kinda fumbling around a little. I only just got back into therapy and we are focused on managing the nightmares and the anxiety right now. I've had some stuff happen healthwise where I had to move back in with my dad and the house hasn't changed since then, the town hasn't changed since then either, basically I'm just waiting to run into one of my old bullies and for it to start up again so 🙃 😅

I went through the same experience as you and was bullied all the way through school, college, and still have issues with it in my adult life as well. Therapy is an awesome option of working through your issues, but my best offense is that I have a good defense. I've been through it enough now that I can clearly see all of the red flags. When I do, I just leave the situation completely. I literally never wore shorts until I was an adult way into my 20s again because in 8th grade there was a guy in my class that picked on me because of my razor burn, so I totally get it.

I do the same! Anything that gives me a weird tummy feel has me leaving. I also noticed I'm very good at picking up double meaning cues in conversations too, anytime there's a side eye or side smirk that suggests the comment wasn't genuine