June is PTSD Awareness Month

In order to bring greater awareness to the issue of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the United States Senate designated June 27th as National PTSD Awareness Day. In addition, June has been designated as PTSD Awareness Month by the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD).

PTSD is a mental health problem that can occur after someone has been exposed to a single traumatic event or multiple traumatic events, such as sexual or physical assault, natural or man-made disaster, and war-related combat stress. Symptoms of PTSD include persistent intrusive thoughts and distressing dreams about the traumatic event, triggered emotional responses to reminders of the trauma, efforts to avoid thinking or talking about the trauma, and persistent hypervigilance for cues that  indicate additional danger or trauma re-occurring.

What can you do if you or someone you care about needs help for PTSD? There are organizations and resources that can help both individuals and professionals discover ways to identify and manage PTSD symptoms.

American Psychological Association

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder 
APA provides news articles, books and other timely resources for individuals and families coping with PTSD.

The waking wounded
Addressing injured soldiers' sleep issues helps improve their rehabilitation, psychologists find. (Monitor on Psychology, January 2013)

More PTSD among homeless vets 
Homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are more likely to be haunted by PTSD than homeless vets of previous eras. (Monitor on Psychology, June 2013)

Helping veterans and their families
Government agencies and community organizations must build bridges to assist service members, veterans and their families, said APA members at a 2012 congressional hearing. (Monitor on Psychology, May 2012)

National Center for PTSD

Working Together to Raise PTSD Awareness 
The National Center for PTSD is a VA center that promotes awareness of PTSD and effective treatments throughout the year. The organization provides mobile apps, videos, printed materials and online tools to educate and assist veterans, the general public and professionals about PTSD.

Center for Deployment Psychology

June is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month 
Lisa French, PsyD, outlines the many organizations that help educate both professionals and the general public about PTSD. 

Where to Get Help for PTSD

Are you are in crisis? You have options:

• Call 911
  
• Go to the nearest Emergency Room
  
• Call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
  
• Contact the Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, press 1 (text 838255) or Confidential Veterans Chat with a counselor​​​​​​​