June is PTSD Awareness Month

While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with Service members and veterans, affecting an estimated 11 to 20 percent of Service members after a deployment, eight percent of the U.S. population at large will be affected by PTSD in their lifetime. The observance of June as PTSD Awareness Month helps highlight this issue of national importance.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder which may occur after experiencing a traumatic event such as combat exposure, physical or sexual assault or a serious accident, and may result in symptoms ranging from chronic sleep problems to irritability and hyper-vigilance.

Not all Service members or veterans suffer from PTSD as a result of their military service, and those Service members who do experience PTSD are rarely dangerous to themselves or others, as the stereotypes imply.

As President Obama recently noted in his remarks at the National Conference on Mental Health, “the overwhelming majority of people who suffer from mental illnesses are not violent. They will never pose a threat to themselves or others.”

Help for Service Members Suffering from PTSD

If you are, or know of, a Service member in need of help or treatment, resources from the National Resource Directory (NRD), the DCoE’s Real Warriors Campaign and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD, are excellent places to start. In addition, if you believe you have PTSD related to your service but have been denied your PTSD disability compensation claim, please contact Veterans Help Group.