Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

ADDEDUM: 7/23/25

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY ALFRED ALLEN JR.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or commonly known as PTSD, is a mental health condition that is caused by a tragic event or a series of events. Examples include physical or emotional abuse, death of a loved one, natural disasters, veterans who experienced combat, etc. These events don't just go away overnight. they can cause emotional scars that carry for years. PTSD will also shape with how you view life. I want to talk about some of the ways that PTSD affects a person.

Symptoms of PTSD come in different forms. One of the way it shows up is by unwanted thoughts. A random incident can trigger a memory that the person has long buried, or they may have experienced a flashback. The person is so overwhelmed, that they actually feel that they're actually back in that event. Avoidance is another symptom of PTSD. They avoid anything that brings back their trauma. You also begin to notice the person being super hyper vigilant, always checking their surroundings in an unusual way.

Some people with PTSD have turned to drugs and alcohol to help cope with their mental health struggles. From there, their life begins to crumble. They take their anger out on people who don't deserve it, their social life decreases, and relationships begin to fail. They become more isolated, depressed, and in some cases suicidal. Alcohol may numb the pain temporarily, but long term you will never be able to have a successful recovery.

How do you recover from PTSD? Recovering from mental health struggles takes time. Trauma doesn't go away overnight, especially after experiencing a life altering event. You can't just tell a person to "get over it", that might make the situation worse. Treatment such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a start. Seeing a therapist guide you to your healing is the first step to taking control of your life. With Therapy, social support, and creating healthy boundaries, you can slowly recover from the trauma you suffered. The most important step you must make is you have to be willing to overcome your struggles. Your support system can believe in you all they want, but you have to believe in yourself in order for your recovery to succeed.