What Comes Next

Learning how to live after an experience like this isn’t simple. It’s different for everyone, but for me, it’s taken five years just to get to this point. I didn’t have a typical high school experience. While people my age talk about college, jobs, and getting their driver’s licenses, that hasn’t been my reality. I’m about to turn 20, and I’m still finishing high school (two years late). I don’t have a job or a license, and the most social interaction I’ve had since 2021 has come from volunteering with Rabbit Advocates once or twice a month, which I only started in April 2024.

And that’s okay. Healing doesn’t happen on a schedule.

In early 2022, I couldn’t even step into a school building or get on a bus without my mom, and even then, I’d have panic attacks. Now, I can take the bus (as long as I have people with me) and I’ve found workarounds in school that will finally let me graduate in July. Progress isn’t always fast or linear, but it happens. I know how annoying that can sound. I hate it when people say "Oh, It'll get better, just give it time!"... No. That's annoying as hell, and I'm going to say the same thing because as annoying and cliche as it sounds, it's true (but that still doesn't mean it's good advice to give to someone in the moment). I need people to understand that trauma doesn’t have a timeline. Support your peers, but don't rush them. Help problem solve, but don't save.

There’s something else I want to make very clear. I know how therapy and mental health conversations are often seen nowadays. There’s a lot of what I like to call "hippie-dippie shit", self-diagnosing, and oversensitivity. That’s not what I’m about. One of the biggest reasons I created this site was to separate myself from that and focus on the real, hard conversations that matter. I needed an outlet. I needed something to focus on, and what's better than something that's haunted me for the past 5 years?

Some people visit this site because they want to share their experiences but want to stay anonymous. Others are here because they know someone considering a TTI program for their child and want to steer them away before it’s too late. No matter why you’re here, I hope this site gives you something useful---whether it’s understanding, validation, or just a reminder that you’re not alone.