Thinking ahead to PTSD Awareness Month

June is PTSD Awareness Month, and advocates say people don't have to suffer in silence. As Cory Smith explains for The National Desk, treatment works according to veteran advocate Jim Lorraine. 

He said post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t just a military thing. Anyone who lives through a traumatic event, such as an assault or car crash, can suffer from PTSD. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says PTSD is slightly more common among veterans than civilians, but there are currently about 12 million people in the United States living with PTSD. 

Nearly 30% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered from PTSD at some point in their life, according to the VA. 

Lorraine was an Air Force officer with over two decades of service. He was a flight nurse with nine combat deployments. 

He's now president of America's Warrior Partnership, which works to prevent veteran suicide. Lorraine said he suffered from PTSD for over a decade before seeking treatment. 

He was worried about the stigma of treatment and how counseling might affect his security clearance. Lorraine deployed to Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. 

He opened up a bit about what he went through in Somalia in the 1990s. “There were a lot of kids, and I saw things happen to kids that I could never get over,” he said. “And between the noise, and the smell, and the ... I just had, I just really struggled with it.” 

He struggled when he came home, he said. He had nightmares. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t go to Fourth of July celebrations or other loud places because they left him feeling unsettled. 

Eventually, towards the end of his military career, Lorraine sought treatment. And it worked, he said. He found help in counseling and psychotherapy called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. 

Both talk therapy and medications can be used to treat PTSD, according to the VA. Lorraine calls it simply “post-traumatic stress,” dropping the “disorder” when referencing the affliction. He said people think they can’t recover from a “disorder,” but that’s not true for this. 

Symptoms can be so severe that they emulate those of a traumatic brain injury, Lorraine said. A person might be more reactive, or they might be withdrawn. They can relive the trauma, and it can color the way they see themselves and the world. 

Lorraine said families and communities need to be aware. And those who suffer, whether veterans or civilians, need to listen when their loved ones tell them something has changed.

“There's a signal. There's something there,” he said. “They're not just imagining this. Pay attention, and go get treated.” 

The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7, and calls can be confidential. If you're in the UK, you can also get intouch with Combat Stress for assistance. 

“Within the veteran community, we just need to look out for each other,” Lorraine said.