I am functioning yes. By the nature of the trauma, a lot of strangers had to enter my life and this involved a lot of meetings and calls etc with unfamiliar people with a variety of personalities. That is cognitively draining right after a major shock. Some were also very unkind. Though I must focus on the warm and empathetic folks. My significant other is going through this too but our coping styles are very different. He wants to pretend that it's not happening...or at least he deals with it without discussing his feelings. I need to discuss my feelings or I feel crazy or deeply depressed.

I hope I didn't mislead anyone. I am not entirely alone since I do have my S.O. And he's a good man but one human can only do so much, right? He has his stress too and I don't want to be a burden. Support from friends or family would be nice but nobody has stepped up (my family has sent kind messages but they are physically far away) so we will accept our reality.

When I posted last night, my S.O. was away all night and I was alone with intense feelings which had not hit me yet. Your comment about the shock response starting to give way sounds very accurate. That's alarming me because I'm not ready to deal with another major trauma. I've had other traumas in the past. I just do my best and try to focus on gratitude and coping step by step. In small increments. However, as of yesterday, I feel I need trauma counseling. I had to run an errand and I cried the whole way as I walked home and my hands were shaking. I couldn't stop. I don't think anyone saw me...I hope!!!

Thank you for writing!