Post traumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D.) is a mental disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. People normally mistake this illness as something exclusively for solders coming back from months at war where they witnessed mass deaths, loss of a friend and the feeling of impotence from not being able to fix all the problems. PTSD can occur from a single event or multiple horrific events staggering over time. It does not have to be in war, it could be as simple as a bad break up, death of a loved one or working on a 911 system where you continuously run to people in need when you cannot save everyone, no matter how hard you try.
Everyone is different and react different to certain situations. Many people decide to go for a drink after experiencing an unpleasant event “to forget” but alcohol is actually a central nervous system depressant. It slows down the brain functions and neural activity, making it harder for your brain to properly process events appropriately and a lot of times even harder to forget. It is estimated that 1 in every 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD and I can only imagine that the number would at least triple if everyone had access to free healthcare or even be willing to seek for help.
This has affected me because I have lived through this and I have seen great men and women lose their battle with PTSD without them even knowing. It is still an illness that just like every other mental disorder is frown upon. People feel weak or “not man enough” if they admit to an illness that many would argue it is imaginary or that you can control it if you just decide to. I believe that the first step to overcome PTSD is to first admit when we have a problem without feeling ashamed in order to be able to rely on your close friends and family without the feeling of being judged that would only make things worse.