June 1 marks the first day of PTSD Awareness Month 2020, and as such, we want to give you a few facts throughout the month to arm you with more knowledge about this mental illness.
Okay, now on to some more PTSD facts:
PTSD can affect anybody. It doesn’t ONLY affect military members. This is a common misconception due to years of heavy reporting associated with service members affected by events experienced during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The fact is that anybody who experiences a traumatic event can develop PTSD — and an important factor to remember is that trauma varies from person to person.
Approximately 8 million people in the US suffer from PTSD each year. This number fluctuates, of course, but important to know here is that symptoms can recur, and these recurrences don’t adhere to a strict timeline.
37% of those diagnosed with PTSD are classified as having severe symptoms. These symptoms can include, but are most certainly not limited to: flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
Here are some additional resources for you, in case you want to learn a bit more about these PTSD Facts:
- Facts about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - ADAMHSCC
- The 2020 PTSD Clinical Trial and Research Guide
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
- Living With: PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) - PsychGuides.com