The Truth Of PTSD – Confronting The Ignorance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

I’m continually amazed at the ignorance that still exists over posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This ignorance is the primary reason we are doing such a poor job confronting this epidemic.

Here are some things to consider:

1) ANYONE can get PTSD. A young girl, a special forces soldier, a Marine, a police officer, a fireman, a housewife, an athlete, ANYONE. If you are human, you can be broken. This should bring us closer together, not further apart. It can be triggered by any traumatic, life-threatening event or events imaginable and you don’t have to be directly involved, you can witness or learn about it. You would be surprised how many people can understand your brokenness. You are not alone.

2) Why don’t people with PTSD just come forward for help before it gets too bad? Well, for a variety of reasons: a symptom of PTSD is avoidance, meaning you want to avoid dealing with it. So to have PTSD by definition means it’s hard for you to come forward. Also, traumatic events can trigger massive amounts of guilt, fear and shame. To come forward means to tell someone else about things that have emotionally wrecked us. You might have only one of those emotions(fear, guilt, shame), but one is enough to want to hide it. This is why we must be proactive about helping those who might be dealing with PTSD. When people learn the truth of PTSD, they are more likely to ask for help.

3) PTSD can be as much a moral/spiritual crisis as anything else. We are raised to “play by the rules” and life will work out. When we are raped, or witness a child dying, or kill someone in war, etc. all of a sudden the rules seem pointless. It can feel like you’ve been lied to your whole life. It can make you question your very existence and mistrust everyone and everything. You look at life and despair at what you see as a “meaningless” and “cruel”  world.

4) You overcome PTSD by learning to live again. The drugs and therapies are a means to an end. What is the end? Learning to live. The best way to do this is to find something you are passionate about and focus on it. Mindfulness, passion, and purpose are powerful medicine. I started getting better when I began playing the guitar. I still slept with a gun and abused pills, but I had a reason to get up and a reason to move forward – my guitar. And stepping forward eventually led me to freedom. One step at a time.

I could go on, but chew on those for a minute. I’ll keep speaking, teaching, writing, and shouting from the mountain tops, you can overcome PTSD! That is the truth of PTSD.

Life was meant to be lived, regardless of how bad you’ve been broken and ultimately, PTSD means being broken. We have one life, live free.