PTSD Awareness

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD is often associated with military veterans but is a human condition that can affect anyone. 

Acute Nursing Care Administrator and Registered Nurse Shelly Long explained how PTSD is oftentimes an unexpected natural response that has been triggered by the memory of a negative or stressful, previous experience.  

“So PTSD is a mental health condition that occurs in anybody after a traumatic event,” Long said. “The traumatic event could be a soldier in combat or somebody surviving a natural disaster, a school shooting, anything that is so traumatic it never leaves them. And what happens is, later on, down the road, they may be reminded of that event and have panic type feelings.” 

Those panic type feelings could be triggered by a certain sight, smell, touch, sound or even taste. The response might cause anything from shortness of breath to a full blown anxiety attack, leading the person to avoid certain situations or to completely withdraw from everyday life.  

“It’s that prolonged stress that really gets people,” Long said. “Treatments involve talk therapy, it involves… medications and there are actually licensed individuals out there who just specialize in PTSD. There’s some new treatments on the horizon that are just in the early stages that are looking very promising.”

Long noted that many people go through situations that others may not know about and that people affected by PTSD should not be stigmatized. She recommends the internet as a good place to start for finding more information and treatment options for people coping with the condition.