PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a serious psychological disorder that can effect people of all ages, in all professions, from all ethnic backgrounds, at any point in life.  All people cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in different ways. Unfortunately almost my whole family has been through this, and some of us are still actively facing it.

Two years ago, I began my personal struggle with PTSD.  Two of my girls went through a mild case of it for a year. Now, my oldest son has spoken out about his. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not hereditary. It’s not a recessive gene, and when someone suffers from it they are not just putting on a show for attention.

The definition of PTSD (according to our therapist) is:

a psychological reaction that occurs after experiencing a highly stressing event outside the range of normal human experience.

It is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, and avoidance of reminders of the event—abbreviation PTSD; called also delayed-stress disorder, delayed-stress syndrome, post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Since dealing with this for quiet some time, I’ve noticed that many people have little compassion for or extreme lack of understanding of this disorder.
Let’s debunk some myths:

1. PTSD is only experienced by veterans of war, prisoners of war, or sexual assault victims.
              This is far from the truth. Anyone can be traumatized by any number of events.

2. PTSD only occurs in adults.
               Another myth, PTSD is not age discriminative. Children as young as 16 months have been diagnosed.

3. People like to say they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because they want attention.
                Nothing could be further from the truth. A victim of PTSD can’t speak freely about the event. It triggers the brain to play the traumatic event out in their head, like a movie, over again. This can lead to anxiety.

4. PTSD will appear immediately after a traumatic event.
                False. Since people with post traumatic stress disorder will avoid places, smells, foods, times of day, or even seasons in parts of a city or county – PTSD can flare up at any time. This could be years after the event.

5. People with PTSD are just crazy.
                     Uneducated myth. PTSD is not associated with psychotics.

6. People coping with PTSD are all doped up.
                 False. Medications are sometimes prescribed to help with depression associated with PTSD, but not everyone suffering from PTSD is taking medication.

🙁 I will finish this entry later. I can’t write anymore right now about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, excuse me…

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