June 27 was PTSD Awareness Day. This was only the fourth year of recognizing this day. I wanted to share about my experience with PTSD on Facebook and my blog, but our roommate situation has only escalated (yes, in our new place). More about that later. All of this information and these links are from the VA government PTSD site.

PTSD Basics

What is PTSD?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something terrible and scary that you see, hear about, or that happens to you, like:

• Combat exposure
• Child sexual or physical abuse
• Terrorist attack
• Sexual or physical assault
• Serious accidents, like a car wreck
• Natural disasters, like a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake

During a traumatic event, you think that your life or others’ lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or feel that you have no control over what is happening around you. Most people have some stress-related reactions after a traumatic event; but, not everyone gets PTSD. If your reactions don’t go away over time and they disrupt your life, you may have PTSD.

Informational videos

If You Think You Have PTSD

• Talk to your family doctor.
• Talk to a mental health professional, such as a therapist.
• If you’re a Veteran, contact your local VA hospital or Vet Center.
• Talk to a close friend or family member. He or she may be able to support you and find you help.
• Talk to a religious leader.
• Fill out a PTSD questionnaire or screen (see below).
• Learn more about talking to your doctor about trauma.
• Take a self-screen questionnaire.

Where to get help. I went to a {Christian} therapist for about eight months, and it was the most helpful thing I’ve ever done in my life. I highly recommend it, and it doesn’t mean you’re not relying on the God, self-sufficient, or independent if you need to see a therapist. They’re incredibly wonderful and helpful.

If you’d like to share this info, here is a PDF.