How to Cope with PTSD in a Loved One

It is inescapable fact that this last century was the beginning of study into what traumatic events have on the human psyche. The military noticed it first, naming it "Shell Shock" in the First World War. It returned in the Second World War as "Combat Fatigue." It was only in the aftermath of the Vietnam War that much attention was paid to what happens to the human mentality after a traumatic experience. The current name, and most accurate to date, is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or more commonly known PTSD. The following article is a do's and don'ts for a person whose Loved One has PTSD.

After a traumatic experience when enough time has passed that the person has gotten over the initial shock, a person is very likely to internalize the memory of that event. This is a logical response; some events are so hurtful that their very memory causes pain. The problem with this is that eventually holding back the memory will become impossible and the rush of pain from the memory can produce actual hallucinations. These hallucinations can seem very real, and can affect all five senses, or any combination thereof. These hallucinations are very traumatic to the individual and often lead to unpredictable or even violent, or self-destructive behavior. There is no set of circumstances that will trigger an attack, it could be simple or it could be very complicated, but when the attack happens a person is lost in their memories.

In order to help a loved one with PTSD, you should first set a certain place that you intend to make as comfortable as possible for that person. This will give the person a place to retreat to if the memories become more than they can cope with for that moment. Do not attempt to "pry out" the memory from the individual as this can cause an attack as listed above, rather wait and as a person feels more and more comfortable they will talk more about what happened, after a certain amount of time when the person feels comfortable about it talk about the possibility that the person has PTSD with them.

Once a person recognizes that they have PTSD, there are a number of steps that you should take to help that individual live their life as normally as any of us can. First and most important is seek medical advice. Let me repeat that once more, seek medical advice. It should be somewhat obvious that anxiety has a good deal to do with PTSD attacks, and there are many medications that can reduce someone's anxiety. Once the person is on a medication, and attempt to stick this into the person's head, encourage them to take their medicine as prescribed. Many people, especially those who have served or did serve in the military, are embarrassed to admit that they have a disease. Taking many medications that can help with anxiety need to be taken regularly to be truly effective.

Prepare yourself to be there for the person who has PTSD, a person with PTSD has a lot they need to talk about. Alternatively therapy of many types can give the person an outlet to which they can learn to live with the trauma that happened to them. People with PTSD can be difficult to relate to so also learn yourself as much as possible with the events of the person's life, empathy can be difficult but it is essential to help.