There are so many times in life when things happen to you that it seems like no one can understand. No one can tell your story the way that it deserves to be told. No one can make you feel like they understand you entirely because they don't. That is life. But what about when you are dealing with a difficult subject?
A few weeks ago I got to know some amazing people who were trying to start a program to help anyone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I'm going to be completely honest, when I think of PTSD I think stereotypical. I think of combat veterans waking up in the middle of the night. I had never realized until I talked to these people how much I had been missing.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is something that can occur from anything traumatic. Not everyone who experiences something traumatic will experience PTSD, but that also doesn't mean PTSD limits itself to war. Many times those who experience sexual assault can suffer from ptsd. A traumatic car wreck could cause someone to have PTSD. One day your life could be normal, but you never know when your life could be changed in a second.
I once heard someone say PTSD wasn't that big of a deal because it's rare. Yes it is rare if you are only looking at it from the angle that veterans get it. What about those who experience sexual assault? Those who were attacked? People who were just living their lives when their lives were altered. PTSD is having the worst moments of your life on replay. It is being forced to constantly live the moments in your life where you felt closest to dying. It is your worst nightmare walking around constantly following you every day. PTSD may not seem like that big of a deal if you forget that you are at risk too.
22. That is the number that die a day because of PTSD. 22. These are veterans, but these are also doctors who experience a tough loss or a teacher who had to protect a student from a gunman. These are people who are forever changed.
I got the chance to sit down and talk to some who suffer from PTSD. One woman talked to me about the struggles she has had to overcome because of it. When I asked her how she went through every day life she looked over at her small child that was sitting in the floor. Through a shaky voice she told me that was the only way. The number is 22. But these people are so much more than 22. These are mothers. These are siblings. These are everyday people just like you and me whose lives were drastically changed one day for one reason or another.
Whenever there is a school shooting the nation mourns the lives of those lost. But we never continue to think about those that lost themselves on those days. What about the people who are forced to relive those days, the ones who will continue to suffer long after the stories leave the media. "PTSD isn't really anything that I could help with so why should I care?" Because these are people just like you. Count your good days. And be thankful that unlike them your bad days don't follow you around.
