So prewarning to all my friends who have triggers from reading about the following: PTSD, reading about yelling, mention of death (In example), swearing, COVID, and extreme emotional fueled ranting!

I'm not one to normally rant on here and am gonna precursor by saying that Tom Cruise is a wonderful actor, love his moves.

BUT the video of him yelling recently that has exploded all over has left me near constantly anxious about when it will pop up next and triggered when I hear it. It never is warned when it'll be played. AND it is almost always scattered in bits.

I have some major PTSD to do with any yelling, no matter the context, flashbacks for me are emotionally draining. I know it isn't possible to stay away from all triggers but i just wish i could sit on my phone or watch TV without that fucking clip hanging over with the possibility of showing up.

I agree that covid is serious i do. It should never EVER be taken as a joke. I understand where he comes from but fucking christ he scares me. makes me revert back to a tiny anxiety-filled tween. I understand that not everything will have a TW but i wish it would The best i can say to explain what it is like right now is, it is like if someone showed you a picture of a dead body, randomly, throughout the day not telling you when they will do it next. It is something you just dread.

Normally it would be easier to find a way to deal with it because i could to a therapist, preferably a trauma therapist, but being between changing from pediatrics to the adult system leaves me without one for the last year. Thus it is making this situation a whole lot more stressful and triggering. my sleep schedule is suffering, i stay awake so long into the night that when i fall asleep i am out cold for 9-13 hours, and my chronic pain is threefold worse than normal during the pandemic itself. I wish the fucking clip would die off already so i could deal with the stress i already have with the pandemic and not make me feel any fucking worse well i wait for healthcare at the end of this virus.

It'll fall out of the news circuit pretty quick with how the pace has been this entire year. In the meantime, I'd say go ahead and just limit your news and media intake for awhile. If you're worried about falling behind on current events, ask a friend or family member to keep you up to date until this blows over.

You can also just make friends/family aware you don't like that footage and hopefully they can avoid linking or showing you any.

I hope you take this last bit in the spirit intended, because it was something that helped a much younger me. I was (and still can be) easily upset by certain things I saw on television, to the point I would become completely paralyzed to recall them. This clip of Mr. Rogers reminding us we have the power to remove ourselves from frightening content, that we have the power to turn it off, always helped me. Even if I ended up scared by something, the knowledge I had the ability to make it go away on command made me feel a little stronger about stuff that otherwise left me helpless.

Thank you, i am definitely focusing more on youtube content than tv until this is passed over,

PS thank you for the clip of Mr. Rogers, he is a gift.

I can't promise to protect you from a yelling Tom Cruise on TV, but I will provide you with all the Pop Cat memes I can find to drown it out!!! And Thurston Waffles!! You're strong, smart and will grab the world by it's tail once you get this moderate to severe joint pain under control! Much love and many hugs my kiddo!!