National PTSD Awareness Day 2020 - Important Date, History, Symptoms, Treatments & National PTSD Awareness Day Quotes
National PTSD Awareness Day 2020
National PTSD Awareness Day is celebrated on June 27 every year. National PTSD Awareness Day 2020 aims to create awareness about the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and impacts on the lives of people. National PTSD Awareness Day is observed across the world every year to support and help out the people suffering from it.
This annual event is geared towards raising awareness of those who will experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during their lifetime. Women have a 10.4 percent chance at some point to develop this condition. Meanwhile, men are likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at 5 percent. Sex trauma victims and military veterans are two of the groups that are most likely to experience this disorder.
What is the history of National PTSD Awareness Day?
In 2010, Senator Kent Conrad pushed for a ‘Day of awareness’ to get official recognition of PTSD in honor to Sgt. Joe Biel who was the member of the North Dakota National Guard. Biel suffered from PTSD and had taken his life in April 2007 after returning to North Dakota following his second duty tour in the Iraq War. The official PTSD Awareness Day was selected as June 27 which was the birth anniversary of SSgt. Biel's birthday. The day was officially recognized by the US Senate in 2010. In 2014, the Senate assigned a PTSD Awareness Month for the entire month of June.
What is PTSD?
PTSD means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD may occur when someone witnesses a traumatic incident or experiences it. Although this may be a battle or combat-related event, it may also be something like a crime or domestic violence. People called it long ago to battle shock or shell shock.
Finally, PTSD was identified as a specific mental illness beginning in 1980. People may have PTSD if they have nightmares or intrusive feelings about the traumatic incident. They may experience suicidal thoughts, irritability or depression. People sometimes even engage in self-destructive or self-harm acts.
Who suffers from PTSD?
Around, 1 in 10 military and emergency service personnel around the world have PTSD. 20% of adults in the U.S. who have witnessed a traumatic incident suffer from PTSD, according to PTSD United. Sources of traumatic events causing PTSD include:
War and military experiences
Sexual or physical assault
Death or injury of a close person
Car crashes or other serious accidents
Natural disasters like tsunami, fire, flood or earthquake
Terrorist attacks
With the help of family and friends, most people will recover quickly with the help of family support and treatments but some may experience long-lasting effects.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder may begin within one month of a traumatic incident, but symptoms can often not appear until a year after the event. Symptoms can vary from person to person and vary over time. Some of the symptoms are listed below:
Unwanted distressing memories of event
Reliving the traumatic event
Negative thoughts
Hopelessness about the future
Memory problems
Feeling detached from family and friends
Lack of interest in activities
Feeling emotionally numb or flat
Easily startled
Trouble sleeping
Trouble concentrating
Irritability, angry or aggressive behavior
Self-destructive or self-harm behavior
Overwhelming guilt
What are the treatments for PTSD?
Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder can help to regain a sense of control over life. Some of the effective treatments are
Counselling
Medications like antidepressants, anti-anxiety
Psychotherapy include cognitive therapy, exposure therapy
How to observe the National PTSD Awareness Day?
People suffering from PTSD should come and talk and get the help from their families. Recovered people should share their experiences and encourage others to overcome their PTSD issues. Constant support from the family and friends is very important to people who are encountering PTSD, some ways to help them are
Plan enjoyable activities. Do fun things for them and allow them to focus on doing at least one nice thing each day
Check regularly with them and provide emotional support
Take them to the doctor and maintain the medication properly
Support and talk to them at the time of negative emotions, flashback or suffering from any pain
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Inspirational Quotes
“Always remember, if you have been diagnosed with PTSD, it is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is proof of your strength, because you have survived!.”
It's not the person refusing to let go of the past, but the past refusing to let go of the person. When we feel weak, we drop our heads on the shoulders of others.”
“My past is an armor I cannot take off, no matter how many times you tell me the war is over.”
“PTSD nightmares aren't always exact replays of the event. Sometimes they replay the emotions you felt during the event, such as fear, helplessness, and sadness.”
“It isn’t in my past. It’s in my every day.”
“Some days the memories still knock the wind out of me.”
National PTSD Awareness Day - FAQ
June month is the National PTSD Awareness Month. In 2014, the Senate assigned a PTSD Awareness Month for the entire month of June.
Three key symptoms of PTSD are re-experiencing the trauma by recurrent distressing reminders of the incident, flashbacks, and nightmares, emotional numbness, and avoidance of locations, people and events which are reminders of the trauma.
The causes can include sights, sounds, tastes, or feelings that in any way remind the traumatic incident.
Due to the diagnoses of U.S. military veterans of the Vietnam War, the term ‘Post-traumatic Stress Disorder’ came into use largely in the 1970s. In 1980, it was formally recognized in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.
In ancient times, PTSD is commonly known as shell shock, soldier's heart, war neurosis or combat fatigue.