PTSD: It’s Not Just for Veterans | Dani Bostick
When Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is in the news, it is mostly because of the number of veterans suffering as a result of combat-related trauma. Victims of other kinds of trauma can also suffer from PTSD, though, and often do without realizing it. PTSD mirrors other mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, and can also present as, “I feel fine,” when really the “feeling fine” rooted in numbness and avoidance.
I have PTSD as a result of sexual abuse that was perpetrated on me throughout my childhood. Child sexual abuse and sexual assault are very common crimes, yet they are so stigmatized that they receive very little attention in the media from a mental health perspective. It is easier to report on a brave soldier coming home from war with flashbacks of violence than it is to admit that there are a lot of men and women out there suffering from similarly troubling symptoms that relate to their abuse or assault.
Has a traumatic event or episode happened to you, or did you witness one?
The threat of death, serious injury, violence, or sexual assault are all considered traumatic events. Not everyone experiences and perceives an event the same way, so there is no concrete list of events that can cause traumatic responses. It depends on the individual. Witnessing these events can be traumatic too, as can having a close friend or relative who has endured a traumatic event.
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t’s easy to explain away symptoms as more socially acceptable and common conditions. “Must be depression!” Or, “Oh, I guess I’ve always been hypersensitive.” Those statements are easier to say than, “I think I have PTSD.”