What I Wish...
people knew or understood about PTSD.
Last month I posted this question to individuals living with a mental illness and was both surprised and moved by the answers I received. This month I decided to ask the the same question for individuals living with PTSD. Again, I’m learning so much from the answers.
First, what is PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It’s not simply a "normal" reaction to a stressful event; it persists and interferes with daily life.
It can affect anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, and trauma can include accidents, natural disasters, violence, sexual assault, and other life-threatening experiences. Even those who have witnessed trauma in others (such as first responders or medical personnel) can develop PTSD.
Symptoms can range from flashbacks and nightmares to intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, and avoiding thoughts, feelings, or situations that remind the person of the trauma.
Potential triggers for PTSD can include:
Anniversaries of the trauma.
Events that remind the person of the trauma (sounds, smells, places).
Media reports about similar events.
Life stressors and arguments.
Insensitive questions or comments about the trauma.
It’s important to know that PTSD can affect anyone, not just those who have been in combat, which is what is most often associated with the disorder. Understanding the symptoms, potential triggers, and available treatments is crucial for both those with PTSD and their support system
But more importantly, what do you wish people understood about PTSD?
Anonymous: I wish people knew that flashbacks are not always the stereotypical, all-consuming panic and disorientation. Sometimes they are much more subtle than that. They are valid regardless. This is what initially made me reject my diagnosis. I didn’t feel that I was experiencing was “bad enough” to be considered a flashback. I understand differently now.
Anonymous: It’s so unpredictable. Even after identifying my common triggers and learning how to prepare for and manage them, I still come across new things that set me back, and I can’t help it. It’s not something I can control so people in my life have to be patient with me.
From Reddit:
aosff: That I spent half of my life without knowing what was wrong with me.
ScoreImaginary: Same here, I thought for YEARS that I couldn’t have PTSD because my flashbacks weren’t an all-encompassing reliving of the event in which I was re-enacting things and not there at all in the present. The body memories are the absolute worst for me. Hard to explain to anyone, even my significant other, because it just makes me feel so dirty.
GreatWentGin: That it’s more than just memories and triggers of the trauma(s). For me it’s all encompassing: depression, anxiety, insomnia, agoraphobia. I feel like the average person thinks it’s literally just being terrified when you hear or see something that reminds you of the trauma(s).
UnconcernedCat: I feel like some people use the word “triggered” too nonchalantly without knowing what it actually means. PTSD is already disorienting and if people don’t take us seriously when we say we are triggered... It just sucks.
Doedemm: It’s complex and confusing. It makes no sense to most people. It’s painful and very hard to manage. It’s a lot of emotion. It’s feeling like you’re in danger and reliving the most painful and terrifying moments of your life. It’s not quirky or fun. The toxic positivity that comes from people who don’t understand. If it were that easy to “just stop thinking about it,” then I wouldn’t have had an episode in the first place, Rebecca. Drinking water and doing yoga doesn’t cure 16 years of trauma.
And a thoughtful perspective from fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Alison McCaughey (I highly recommend her column Out Here In the Fields):
I would say that in recent years, I’ve begun to expand my understanding of, or openness to, the idea that all of us, meaning everyday “civilian” people, may experience lasting/lingering stress with negative impacts, after a bad thing has happened. It makes perfect sense, right? But those letters, to me, have always been so closely tied with the idea of “shell-shocked” veterans, particularly Vietnam vets, (my dad’s contemporaries), who were never believed...
Alison went on to recommend the groundbreaking book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, a leading expert in trauma who is well-known for his work with and advocacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. He views EMDR as a valuable and effective tool for treating trauma, particularly in cases of PTSD. (I also highly recommend this book.)
But more importantly, Alison said something else that deeply resonated with me. She said she now thinks about the words “trauma” and “PTSD” as “things all of us may experience on different levels. Having lasting effects from a traumatic event just seems so…human. Possible. Nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of, (and yet there is shame surrounding it).”
She wondered if she was oversimplifying it, and as I read her comment, I was shaking my head.
Not oversimplifying it at all.
What do you wish people knew or understood about PTSD?
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Thankyou for another insightful post. My real fear is that we are running out of people like you you truly care. A question comes to mind. PTSD is a horror for people who experience it, so why are we taking the authority away from Iowa cities and counties for 4th of July fireworks regulation?
My wife suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child. It has affected her whole life and it has made it difficult to communicate with her at times. My sisters suffered sexual abuse and I've found out that I was a witness to it. My wife says some of my behavior shows signs of PTSD. I have tried hypnotherapy to recover memories. The Doctor said My breathing changed and my heart rate soared. But no details were recovered. The Doctor said some memories are best left buried. I don't see it really bothering me other than I wish I could remember. Thanks for the great reporting.