Throughout the years there have been many wars won and lost by many different nations; some over things like power, land, rights, and many different views on the world. We tend to focus on the war and not the soldiers fighting in the war. How they are affected, how their families are impacted by war, and how they can be helped to get through these many complications post war should be considered. Treatment can be hard to help deal with because each soldier is impacted differently by things they see and experience. I have seen with my own two eyes how families, friends, and soldiers are impacted by Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Me personally has never yet seen one diagnosed with PTSD climb the hard wall to get through their problems. Surveys show that there is nothing that family members and loved ones can do to help those diagnosed with PTSD to help them through their hard times. I have discovered that there is a plethora of different things they can do to help people overcome being flagged with having PTSD. 

“According to mental health professionals, post-traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD) is a mental condition that results in a series of emotional and physical reactions in individuals who have either witnessed or experienced a traumatic event” (Roberts Catherine). People close with those diagnosed with PTSD usually feel bad because they cannot do much to help with their loved one’s problems. Family member sometimes spend all of their time trying to help them and end up not taking care of themselves. But, it is good to take time with them and be there for these victims socially. PTSD has many different effects on people; both internal and external. External effects is not referring to the person’s physical health, but to the mental health of those around them. There are many different side effects of PTSD such as depression, nightmares, flashbacks, and emotional numbing. The list of side effects goes on, but those are just a few of many of the life changing side effects of the horrible disorder. Not everyone has the same effects, but everyone around them is effected in about the same way.

Some say that psychotherapy is the most effective when it comes to treatment of PTSD. Psychotherapy is listed to have one of the greatest impacts on treatment for this issue. Therapy can be used to help those diagnosed come to conclusions of why they are experiencing these feelings, fears, dreams, flashbacks, and other symptoms. People diagnosed have also been known to have problems with protectivity and are extremely paranoid, so they make plans to stay safe. “In the aftermath of trauma, many people experience what psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun have termed ‘posttraumatic growth’—the positive personal growth that can result from a traumatic event” (GoodTherapy.org Resilience Growth). Therapists have been known to be able to ease PTSD symptoms no matter how long after these traumatizing events have taken place and tattooed their position in someone’s life. 

“The main treatments for people with PTSD are psychotherapy (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT), medications, or both. Everyone is different, so a treatment that works for one person may not work for another” (Anxiety and Depression Association of America(ADAA)). There are many several types of therapy, even when considering the specific cases of PTSD. Frequent ways therapists have been known to go about treatment are Individual Psychotherapy, Behavioral or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Group therapy, Medication, and many more (ADAA). It has been known for there to be more than one way to go about helping those diagnosed with PTSD for each case; so, it is simple for therapists to be able to find a way that gets the best and fastest treatment for the one or many dissimilar symptoms that one may be going through due to the life changing events that they have experienced. 

In some cases, it has been known for family members and friends to make it harder on PTSD patients unknowingly. There are some cases where the kids of those diagnosed have made the lives of those diagnosed more stressful. I have also seen where friends have encouraged bad habits used to help cope with their problems such as drinking or smoking. There are sometimes even seen where in some cases spouses have made it harder by leaving them instead of trying to find out and research things they can do to help them through these times of need. Sometimes these cases have been known to leave these war veterans homeless, stressed out, and even drug addicted.

The main treatments for people with PTSD are psychotherapy (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT), medications, or both (ADAA). One understand that in some cases therapy may be the best things for some those diagnosed with PTSD because they do not have family that are willing to help, their family members do not understand that they are not helping or are making the issue worse, in some cases U.S. veterans do not have a family at all. In situations, such as those just listed it is best for those to be enlisted in therapy to help with their troubling issues. One of these situations can possibly be prevented by the process of communication and patience. 

“If someone in your family has PTSD, it can be a hard time for family members too.  Your loved one with PTSD may have symptoms that interfere with your relationship and change family life.  If your loved one has PTSD, you may also be coping with feelings fearful if your loved one is angry or aggressive.”(Mental health America)

I have seen where families are torn apart because, those diagnosed with PTSD do not have proper knowledge or they have not taken the time to talk to their family members and friends about their issues so the family just act like they do not realize that their family member or friend are going through these troubling problems. This can cause their symptoms to be harder to be taken care of causing more bad habits to be used to cover their problems.

However, for those who do have family members and loving friends, it is possible for you to be able to help with treatment of PTSD without therapist. Thing like just spending time with your loved one and talking to them about their problems can make a bigger impact on their healing process then it may seem. Just by spending time with them you can allow them to see you as a more trustworthy person than you were before. This may allow them to feel more comfortable with opening up to you about their problems and what may be causing them to feel the way they are feeling, making nightmares occur, and maybe even causing them to put up a defensive wall towards the rest of society.

In some situations, those diagnosed with the disorder do not feel comfortable coming out with their problems or do not want to admit to having symptoms or are going about dealing with PTSD in the wrong manner. Taking an hour or two out of your day to do an activity or two or even spending time with your loved one on the weekends can help them to feel more comfortable with talking to you about their symptoms. If you are not able to help them or cannot find a way to help, you can always go online and do some research or call a few people or places and find any to help out with the issue. This way you have the most effective way to help them out with their issues and overcome these major walls that PTSD has placed in front of them.

Jane Brody talks about the reasons and how those diagnosed with PTSD deal with their problems. The author refers to a movie called “Almost Sunrise”; in the movie two veterans travel by foot to help with their PTSD. He seems to be focused on the many ways to help and treatment for the issue. However, he does talk about the many different ways they are effected mentally by their traumatizing pasts. veterans are helped by professionals and the process they go through to help them. (War Wounds That Never Heal)

In the book by Linda Schupp called “Assessing And Treating Trauma” they talk about how people are diagnosed with PTSD as well as how to treat PTSD. “Because of their lack of trust, clients may be iffy of opening to a stranger that claims to “help and care.” (Schupp 127) 

Is a quote from the book showing us how developing a close relationship with one diagnosed with PTSD would help benefit us in helping them through the healing process. She talks about how basically no one wants to open up to a total stranger who they do not know from a can of paint. However, listening is a very large part in helping others through their healing process.

 “Every human being has a deep longing and need to be heard and understood” (Schupp 127)

One is not declaring that therapy is not a great way to help with PTSD treatment but, there are other things that can be done to help others with treatment. Family members can take more time out of there schedules and try to spend additional time with these veterans and try to help them get better. Not by tying to encourage them to do what makes them feel better but may not be the best for their health. I know it may be hard to be around or spend time with someone diagnosed with PTSD and does not trust you. Even if you do still decide to allow or take your loved one to a therapist it would still help for you to get involved with them and go to a therapy conference or two. It would still better you and the one diagnosed if you did some research on the things that they could possibly do to make this process faster and or go more smoothly. 
