Rough Evening

I'd appreciate it if you could all say a few prayers for Caden tonight. He's feeling the weight of a lot of stressors right now and is handling it to the best of his ability, but, for him, too much stress is definitely a bad thing. He hasn't tried to hurt himself in over five months, I'm concerned that he might because the stress is bringing on flashbacks, so, we're in survellience mode at the moment. So, if you could say a prayer or two I'd appreciate it. Being so far away in these moments is just horrible. Thanks guys.

definately molly...
distance can be so painful

He's in my prayers.

Poor Caden. I'll keep him in my prayers, Molly. By the way, does he have certain times of the year that are triggers for him? My ex used to. This past weekend was the 9th anniversary of the day he left us. He has been calling me every weekend since last summer. Suddenly, last weekend, no phone calls. Hasn't even returned mine. I'm guessing the memory of that weekend has triggered his PTSD.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I'm curious to see how his day went.

He doesn't really have problems with triggers, Katrina, as much as he does response to stress. He deals well with memories of his past, usually. It's when he's under tremendous stress that he has problems functioning and right now he's under more stress than any person his age - or mine for that matter - should be under.

He recently lost his job after only a few months and while he's found a temp position, it's unstable and the finances are suffering because the needs aren't being completely met. The relative that always cared for him has recently suffered a breakdown and Caden feels responsible to care for him so not only does he have his own bills to worry about, but this person's as well. (long story)Due to family situations with pregnancies, illnesses and the like, he's also carrying the ball for most of the day to day operations for the animal shelter. That's cleaning and feeding seventy or so animals a day, plus the finances and all that. He's getting less than four hours of sleep a night, he's barely eating and the stress is causing a lot of physical problems, never mind emotional. Then there's me, trapped up here with the whole divorce thing, I can't be with him when he needs me and that's stressful for him, so, for him, he's feeling a tad overwhelmed right now.

Last night could have been a repeat of a few weekends ago but this time I took my time, remembered what to say and what not to say and it turned out okay. The hardest thing is during times like this for him, Caden needs to be lifted up - the problem is, once he's been lifted up, he expects me to carry him until it's all passed over and I can't do that. Nobody can do that. He has to learn to carry himself.

Right now i'm focusing hard on staying positive, saying what needs to be said in the right manner.

Molly, I'm praying for both of you. Hang in there.