> When you have a broken leg, everyone notices and can relate; when you have a broken mind, no one can see it, and so no one can feel sympathy, let alone empathy.

This hits home and almost moved me to tears. I went through a trauma about 3 years ago, I was Kidnapped/abducted from a gas station at gun point and was forced to drive my attacker for nearly 30 minutes at gun point under threat of death before opening the door and diving out of my moving vehicle to escape. During that experience I considered purposely crashing my car believing it would kill both me and my attacker, but I wanted to live and ultimately took my chances diving onto the street from the moving car knowing I might get run over.

I can’t explain it other than I know I should have been thankful/grateful/happy I escaped with my life, but I knew immediately the trauma was real and sure enough it has been a downward spiral of cutting off every single relationship in my life and extreme isolation/avoidance. I’ve sought help/treatment (both therapy and meds) to no real benefit.

Even 3 years later I have to relieve the trauma because I’m suing the gas station for negligent security (turns out the guy had been loitering at the gas station for 2 hours prior to targeting me, even hanging out in the store talking to employees without ever making a purchase). The insurance attorneys are victimizing next worse than my kidnapper, they have destroyed the surveillance video, Claimed the kidnapping didn’t happen on their property (when I was literally approached while at the gas pumps), and telling me my damages aren’t real. This goes directly to your point, if I were shot they would have settled the policy limit ($2M) but because it’s not visible damages they are doing everything to claim it didn’t happen on their property, if it did they aren’t liable, and if they are liable the damages aren’t real but self inflicted. They either have no clue what kind of additional trauma they are causing or they actually do and are trying to cause me self harm so this goes away for them.

I humbly admit while I always felt for people who went through traumas (soldiers, child abuse, sexual abuse) I realize now I was incapable of actually empathizing...I won’t say I have suicidal ideations, but I often feel I’d have been better off not surviving.