Feeling more like home

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My anxiety level had been going up slowly for about a month before this trip to New York. Every year around this time as September 11 approaches, it’s the same occurrence. It hit a high last week. Something in my Brooklyn apartment triggered what felt like something that could have become a panic attack. I practiced the sensory regulation technique that helped me a dozen or more times before, and then felt more calm. That was on Tuesday. At the end of the week, I met up with friends on Long Island for a long weekend. Upon returning to my apartment, the anxiety I had felt was gone.

Not only do I feel more calm in my apartment, I also feel more calm in other places around the city.

About a month ago, I joined IAVA.org, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as a volunteer. I will be helping veterans and other IAVA supporters with PTSD and other emotional hindrances. At the monthly meeting this past Tuesday, the group discussed plans to partner with the organization responsible for the 9/11 memorial at the site of the World Trade Center. “Normally” I would have been in tears at the discussion. But at this meeting, I didn’t need a tissue. Healing is happening.

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