The problem with surviving was that you ended up with the ghosts of everyone you’d ever left behind riding on your shoulders.

~ Paolo Bacigalupi

Paolo Bacigalupi Survivor Guilt War

The wave of pure outrage blindsided me. I shouldn't be here, I thought. This is utterly fucked up. I should have been sitting in a garden down the road, barefoot with a drink in my hand, swapping the day's work stories with Peter and Jamie. I had never thought about this before, and it almost knocked me over: all the things we should have had. We should have stayed up all night together studying and stressing out before exams, Peter and I should have argued over who got to bring Jamie to our first dance and slagged her about how she looked in her dress. We should have come weaving home together, singing and laughing and inconsiderate, after drunken college nights. We could have shared a flat, taken off Interrailing around Europe, gone arm-in-arm through dodgy fashion phases and low-rent gigs and high-drama love affairs. Two of us might have been married by now, given the other one a godchild. I had been robbed blind.

~ Tana French

Tana French Grief Survivor Guilt

Many veterans feel guilty because they lived while others died. Some feel ashamed because they didn’t bring all their men home and wonder what they could have done differently to save them. When they get home they wonder if there’s something wrong with them because they find war repugnant but also thrilling. They hate it and miss it.Many of their self-judgments go to extremes. A comrade died because he stepped on an improvised explosive device and his commander feels unrelenting guilt because he didn’t go down a different street. Insurgents used women and children as shields, and soldiers and Marines feel a totalistic black stain on themselves because of an innocent child’s face, killed in the firefight. The self-condemnation can be crippling.The Moral Injury, New York Times. Feb 17, 2015

~ David Brooks

David Brooks Ashamed Combat Ptsd Guilt Horror Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Ptsd Shame Soldiers Survivor Guilt Veterans War War Trauma

People generally don’t suffer high rates of PTSD after natural disasters. Instead, people suffer from PTSD after moral atrocities. Soldiers who’ve endured the depraved world of combat experience their own symptoms. Trauma is an expulsive cataclysm of the soul.The Moral Injury, New York Times. Feb 17, 2015

~ David Brooks

David Brooks Cataclysm Child Abuse Combat Combat Ptsd Depraved Guilt Immoral Act Military Moral Atrocities Moral Responsibility Morality Morals Natural Disasters Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Ptsd Rape Sexual Abuse Sexual Assailed Shame Soldiers Soul Survivor Guilt Trauma Veterans War War Trauma Warfare

There comes a time for us not to just be survivors, but to be warriors. Yara, you have your life, and the chance to make the most of it. Don't run or hide from that challenge or let your guilt keep you from living your life. This gift is such a beautiful opportunity. Embrace it. Seize every opportunity from here on out. Live.

~ Becca Vry

Becca Vry Challenge Challenge Inspiration Motivation Holocaust Survivor Hopescapes Live Live Your Life Seize Every Opportunity Strength And Courage Strength Through Adversity Survivor Guilt Survivors Of War Syrian Civil War Syrian Refugee Warrior Warrior Quotes

One must consider that small children are virtually incapable of making much impact on their world. No matter what path taken as achild, survivors grow up believing they should have done something differently.Perhaps there is no greater form ofsurvivor guilt than “I didn't try to stop it. Or “I should have told. The legacy of a helpless, vulnerable, out-of-control, and humiliated child creates an adult who is generally tentative, insecure, and quite angry. The anger is not often expressed, however, as it is not safe to be angry with violent people. Confrontation and conflict are difficult for many survivors.

~ Sarah E. Olson

Sarah E. Olson Abuse History Angry Boundaries Boundary Issues Child Abuse Effects Child Abuse Survivors Conflict Confrontation Guilt Helped Humiliated Insecure Relationship Problems Self Blame Survivor Guilt Survivors Victim Blaming Vulnerable