EDUCATION
So, you’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, or you think you may have it, or you know someone you suspect is struggling with it. The first step in healing is learning what, exactly, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is. We can’t heal it if we don’t understand it!
Education is the key to taking back the power trauma steals. To begin recapturing that power you must learn all you can about PTSD, it’s definition, causes, symptoms, treatment options, resources and information centers.
What is PTSD? - In 1980 the American Psychiatric Association formally recognized Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a psychological condition. What is PTSD? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV has a nifty little description.
PTSD Symptoms - OK, let’s get the lingo straight. If you’re stressed over an exam, or you don’t like having to deal with your boss, you do not have PTSD. You’re just stressed; totally different. Actual PTSD symptoms are classified in 3 categories, are very specific and are directly related to re-experiencing aspects of the original, life-threatening traumatic event.
PTSD Causes - If having to stand online at the grocery store doesn’t give you PTSD, what does? The sad truth: there’s a mighty long list of events that cause us to feel life-threatened and with an utter sense of powerlessness.
Do I Have PTSD? - If you think you may have PTSD the thing you most want is to know for sure. The first step toward diagnosis is deciding that your symptoms and experience are PTSD material. For this, it helps to read a comprehensive and condensed PTSD overview, and take a self-test. (Then, you need to find yourself a trauma trained professional.)
Am I The Only One? - Numbers always help our brains wrap around concepts. We like to round, estimate and calculate percentages so that we can better and more easily visualize, categorize and understand things. In this case, it’s nice to know the size of the group you belong to. It’s a pretty large and diverse group, so if you have PTSD, welcome to the club. You’re not alone by a long shot.
Popular PTSD Questions - There are several standard PTSD questions that might be running through your mind. We’ve pulled them all together into one tidy space.
Trauma & PTSD associations and organizations - Really fleshing out your PTSD education means becoming familiar with the resources available to you. The more you know, the more you can chart your healing path. There’s a wide range of associations and organizations plugging away at the PTSD problem. Getting an overview of the landscape can help you figure out where to get started.
PTSD Resources - At a certain point in your PTSD education and along your healing process you’ll be ready to narrow your research to what specifically speaks to your experience. We’ve got you covered. Whether you have PTSD or C-PTSD, Combat PTSD or Post-Partum PTSD there are resources for you to find information, therapists and other survivors in your community.
Recommended Reading - Sometimes, what we really need is a good book or workbook so that we can (alone and at our own pace) discover what PTSD is and how we can proactively work to heal it. No sweat; with input from survivors worldwide we’ve got that covered for you, too.
(Photos: Ryan Brenizer, Guccia, Combined Media)
