June is PTSD awareness month, which means it is the month that’s dedicated to providing awareness around the country about this mental health condition. One of the ways to spread awareness of PTSD is to provide individuals with education about trauma and how exposure to trauma can lead to the development of PTSD. This way, people living with undiagnosed PTSD can find out if they are living with PTSD and get the help they need to establish lives with better mental wellbeing. 

What is PTSD?

If awareness about PTSD includes education, we can start by overviewing what PTSD actually is. PTSD is a mental health condition that may develop after a person is exposed to traumatic situations. While people may experience trauma and then not develop PTSD, people who develop trauma have an abnormal reaction to traumatic experiences as living through these frightening and traumatic experiences has affected the flight or fight response, a biological defense mechanism that every person has. People with PTSD experience debilitating symptoms that affect everyday life.

Signifying Factors of PTSD

Identifying symptoms and signs of PTSD can help people who are living with this disorder identify whether or not they may need professional assistance through diagnosis and treatment. Some of the signifying symptoms of PTSD may include: 

• having flashbacks of traumatic events
• experiencing vivid nightmares about traumatic events
• having intrusive thoughts, often about traumatic events 
• feeling apathetic about life and past passions/hobbies
• being worried without having reason to worry
• bouts of agitation, aggression, and anger
• sleep troubles (insomnia or sleeping too much)
• avoidance behaviors
• being easily startled

Things That Make Developing PTSD More Likely

PTSD is developed as the result of experiencing severe traumatic events like abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional), childhood neglect, witnessing or being the victim of a violent crime, surviving a natural disaster or accident, being diagnosed with an illness, experiencing a life-threatening injury, and more. However, along with experiencing a traumatic event, there are some risk factors that can make a person more likely to develop PTSD including: 

• having concurring mental health disorders like substance abuse disorder
• feelings of guilt for surviving a traumatic experience
• experiencing other traumatic events in the past
• having family members with PTSD or other mental health issues
• having little support from friends and family after experiencing traumatic events

Getting Help for PTSD During PTSD Awareness Month

If you or a loved one has experienced trauma, it’s important to understand that there is help that is available and successful for people dealing with PTSD. Spreading awareness about PTSD includes spreading awareness that available treatments are successful in helping to reduce debilitating symptoms of PTSD.

Willow Place for Women is a women’s-only, outpatient treatment center in Asheville, North Carolina that helps women struggling with the effects of trauma. We also provide trauma education to individuals and families that are experiencing the effects of PTSD and trauma. Find out more about our services and facility from our website to learn more about how we can help.