How Michele Rosenthal Became a Comeback Woman

As women, how do we know who we are? What clues allow us to say, “I am” with authority? For those of us who struggle through trauma and challenges that change our view of ourselves, how do we get it back?

When I was 13 years old I survived a rare, life-threatening illness. By the time I left the hospital my entire view of myself had been eradicated. I saw myself only as a survivor. To make matters worse, I felt that I didn’t deserve to have survived. I heard a voice in my head constantly reminding me of sad, painful and terrifying memories and ideas.

It’s no wonder I grew into an adult who was completely lost, traumatized, dysfunctional, riddled with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and constantly searching for the answer to the question, “Who am I?” Many years passed, and then finally, I discovered not only how to define myself, but also who I truly am beneath the scars. I was 39 years old. It happened this way:

Stuck in the deep depression of PTSD, debilitated by symptoms that were both psychological and physiological, I reached a day when something inside me screamed, “I don’t want to spend my life this way!” From that day forward I decided to redefine who I was. I wanted to get rid of the suffering struggling woman and become someone else.

I decided to focus on what makes me feel joy. In depression it seemed like a tough task, but something in me just wanted to feel the opposite of how I felt every day. I knew when I dance I feel joy, so I decided to dance a lot. I signed up for dance classes every day of the week. Despite my mood I dragged myself to class every day – and was rewarded with an experience that only lasted for an hour but that shifted my focus from the past to the present, from depression to joy, from feeling lost to feeling completely grounded in my body.

The more often I went to class, the more I felt joy, the more a long-dormant part of me slowly began to wake up. The stronger this feeling of joy and of a true self became, the more I wanted to heal, which drove me to find new methods of recovering from PTSD.

It was a simple change: I turned my focus to where I felt my joy flowed, and from there an entirely new self emerged. Today, not only have I defined who I am by launching a company to help other survivors make the transition from powerless to powerful, I also have performed and taught dance. Most importantly, I can say now, “I am a woman who deserves to live and dance and feel joy and help others discover the true definition of who they are.” All of that, because I decided to find a way to redefine myself. You can do that, too. The first step is deciding where your passionate energy lies, and then following it.


Michele Rosenthal is the founder of Heal My PTSD, LLC, an organization that advocates for education, awareness, treatment and self-empowered healing of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She also works with clients around the world as a Self-Empowered Healing Coach. Her story of trauma and recovery, BEFORE THE WORLD INTRUDED: A Memoir of Trauma, Survival, Identity & The Pursuit of Joy, will be released in 2011. An excerpt of the book may be downloaded here. You can find her on Facebook and follow on Twitter @MichelePTSD