Having compassion and understanding is critical for being sensitive and respectful to someone living with PTSD.
“Can’t you get over it?”
“Getting over it” is a phrase of choice in people who don’t understand mental health disorders. When people are depressed, those who are less informed tell them to cheer up. People who are anxious grow tired of hearing people to just calm down. Though the logic is rational enough, the depth of understanding is absent. Mental illness suggests that the ability to naturally and normally regulate mental states is missing. Someone who is living with PTSD is living with a combination of depression, anxiety, and other conditions all related to a significant and life-changing event they witnessed, or were the direct victim of. “Getting over it” is not something the PTSD brain is readily able to do. In order to cope with the reality of the traumatic experience the brain essentially stops at the point of the event, neither getting over it or going through it.
“But it wasn’t really traumatizing”
Saying anything isn’t a big deal to someone who finds that something is a big deal, is a big deal. Trauma is subjective, not objective. What might seem like water off a duck’s back to one person might be deeply disturbing to another. Everyone has an individual experience in life. Negating, condescending, statements like these take away from someone’s experience. More importantly, the deep insecurity which can come with PTSD is magnified when the already difficult to cope with situation is made worse.
“You don’t act like people with PTSD”
One of the greatest misconceptions of mental illness is that it has to “look” a certain way. Most people who cast these quick diagnoses are not mental health professionals. Your opinion what does or does not look or act like PTSD is neither official nor important. Worse, it can be damaging. People are not always aware that they are struggling with PTSD. Symptoms might be blaring or they might be subtle. Either way, speaking up about symptoms of PTSD is a great feat for anyone to accomplish for themselves. Statements that undermine that attempt can inhibit that attempt and essentially shame someone out of asking for the clinical support they need to heal.
If you are struggling with PTSD, you are not alone. Asking for help is the first and courageous step toward healing. The Guest House Ocala offers privacy, comfort, and the highest level of concierge style treatment to make your treatment experience as meaningful and transformational as possible. Call us today for information: 1-352-812-2780