Tips for Supporting A Loved One with PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that affects millions of people today. You may know it by several other names, like shellshock, combat fatigue, and war neurosis. But it’s not limited to the battlefield. 

Nearly 8 million people deal with the effects of PTSD, and estimates indicate that up to 8 of 100 people develop it at some point in their lives. It can take years for symptoms to show after an inciting event, and men and women are likely to experience different symptoms.

Supporting someone you love who’s coping with PTSD can be difficult, but there are ways you can help make your loved one’s life easier. 

Let’s explore this by examining what PTSD is, what symptoms people may show, and what you can do to help. If you live in the Hodgenville, Kentucky, area and you or a loved one is dealing with PTSD, Amy Nunn, PMHNP-BC, and our compassionate team at Nunn Psychiatric Care are here to help you through.       

Understanding PTSD

As the name suggests, PTSD is a condition caused by a traumatic event that creates stress and anxiety in a wide variety of ways. 

The older names for this condition were often indicative of soldiers dealing with the difficulties of war, but anyone can suffer from it as a result of any type of trauma. The passing of a loved one, a terrifying accident, or a violation of something deeply personal may cause long-term problems with PTSD.

PTSD symptoms

People dealing with PTSD can exhibit various symptoms, including:

Intrusive memories

Painful memories of the traumatic event can recur in the form of flashbacks, the sensation of reliving the events, nightmares, and fearful thoughts.

Avoidance

Sufferers are also likely to try to avoid dealing with anything connected with the event, so they avoid discussing it and anything that reminds them of it in any way.

Negative thinking

This includes an array of things, such as an inability to remember portions of the event, intense feelings of guilt and shame, detachment and estrangement from others, reduced interest in most things in life, concentration issues, depression, anxiety, and phobias.

Reactivity and arousal

This is a set of symptoms that create intense reactions, including being hypersensitive to perceived dangers, intense feelings of anxiety, angry outbursts, irritability, and difficulty sleeping. 

How to support someone who has PTSD

Dealing with this from the outside can be difficult, especially when all you want to do is help. Here are some tips to support a loved one trying to cope:

Provide social support

Your loved one needs support coming to grips with this problem, so don’t pressure them into talking about things and let them take the lead in interacting.

Be a good listener

They also need to express what they went through in some way, so be there to hear them out, regardless of how difficult they have to say.

Rebuild their trust and safety

They need to know that people will be there through the difficult times, so express commitment to being there, make plans and create a routine.

Manage triggers

With PTSD, there are specific things to set off a negative response unique to your loved one, so stay aware of them and reduce exposure wherever you can. 

Your loved one needs space to work through the issues related to the trauma, so be patient. A safe environment to work through the issues is key to improvement, so do what you can, and when they’re ready for professional help getting through it, make an appointment with us at Nunn  Psychiatric Care in Hodgenville, Kentucky.