June is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, and the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is seeking to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder, focusing on what it is and urging people to seek help for themselves or someone they feel is suffering from it.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events, or set of circumstances. An individual may experience PTSD as emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening, affecting their mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being.
Symptoms:
Intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended.
They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares.
May feel sadness, fear, or anger.
May feel detached or estranged from other people.
They may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event.
They may react negatively to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.
PTSD can be very complicated because not everyone who experiences a traumatic event develops PTSD, and the symptoms are often unique to the individual.
A study by the Department of Veterans Affairs illustrates veterans' vulnerability to developing PTSD. It notes that veterans are more likely to be exposed to a traumatic event, so their risk of developing PTSD is higher.
However, PTSD can occur in all people of any ethnicity, nationality, or culture and at any age; therefore, service members or veterans aren't the only ones who experience PTSD but are however, at a great risk. Anyone who has gone through an intensely traumatic experience could be affected by PTSD, events such as physical or sexual assault, war-related combat stress, terrorism, natural or man-made disasters, and other threats to a person's life can ultimately expose an individual to such disorder. But help is available.
PTSD can be managed through various venues. Visiting a mental health professional or contacting your local Veteran Services office for more information are just a few ways to seek help. Self-care and seeking effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can help reduce symptoms and prevent symptoms from worsening.
For more information, visit: https://tchhsa.org/eng/human-services/veterans-services-office-vso or https://tchhsa.org/eng/mental-health
