I am sharing this letter from my beautiful daughter in hopes it will give people struggling with guilt of how their PTSD reactions may have hurt or cheated their families. There is hope & forgiveness on the other side of Trauma.

As I sit down to write this, I'm acutely aware of the countless other spouses out there who, like me, stand by their law enforcement officers through thick and thin. We share a bond that goes beyond the badge, one that's forged in the fires of love, resilience, and understanding.

My husband, the man I fell in love with, the one who wore his uniform with pride, is battling demons that most people will never see.

I’ve underestimated trauma. Most my life I reserved the word “trauma” for other people. It was nothing I needed to worry about. I had a great childhood and didn’t experience any “traumatic events” by my definition. I considered trauma an adjective to describe something that is extreme or drastic.

Spoiler alert: I was wrong.

Have you ever felt completely defeated? Like life has dealt you a bad hand and there isn’t any way to get out of it, so you “shake it off” and push through. I would often experience this as “go to bed and wake up and doing it all again”. In your world (First Responders, Military or Medical Personell), strength is often synonymous with resilience in the face of adversity. But what if true strength lies not in stoicism, but in the courage to embrace vulnerability? Traumatic experiences may be an inevitable part of the job, but it doesn’t mean failure.