The facts about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Hey guys, I wanted to say a few words about something that I and a lot of other people suffer from...Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. It is a very serious mental health condition caused by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it. Many times it can be more than one event. They experience or "relive" the event over and over again uncontrollably. It is chronic, serious, and often very Hellish for the person suffering from it, a fact I know all too well.A guy with PTSD posted something about it here the other day and asked for help and apparently got torn apart, told to just go get a job and go back to work, and called pathetic. There is also the case of a guy from my hometown area that was a Vietnam veteran. He was a medic that volunteered to go and soon after he arrived there he saw people wounded and mutilated, often guys died right in front of him, and he was also raped. He was in his late teens when all this happened. He came back a sick and broken man with PTSD, he roamed the streets homeless and abandoned, and basically went insane. He was riduculed mercilessly all his remaining life till he died a few years ago...literally died in the street alone.This isn't about a pity party, its about understanding the suffering of others so their pain isn't made worse. People that have been tortured and traumatized are not always going to be "lovable". Often times these are victims of rape, incest, child abuse, physical assault, car accident victims, the list goes on. Its not uncommon for the condition to be so debilitating that they can't work or even leave home. Many Iraq and Afghanistan vets end up sitting in their basement terrified to go anywhere. Avoidance is a big part of PTSD. They are not "lazy", or "moochers", or "weirdos". They just dont want to be hurt anymore and many times attempt suicide (and some tragically accomplish it.)There DEFINITELY IS help for sufferers of PTSD. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255). There are trained counselors that can talk to you and guide you to find local resources and assistance near you. There is also a Veterans Crisis Line at that same number.I do not want to see someone that is sick with PTSD a disease that they didn't ask for get attacked like the two cases I mentioned above or in any other cases. A support system of understanding and caring people is what these people need most of all. If you need help, reach out to someone that can help you as help is definitely out there. If you know someone that needs help, just be there for them and do everything you can for them.I hope this post does some real good for both sufferers and loved ones and that it makes a positive difference in someone's life. Peace.