Healing – Page 2 – The Youth Advocate

You Don’t Have To Be a Veteran To Have PTSD

Depression is an illness, PTSD is a psychiatric anxiety disorder. It’s possible to have both at the same time.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is extremely different from typical anxiety and depression. Although, depression and PTSD share certain symptoms, many don’t realize that it is possible to experience both conditions at the same time.

You don’t have to be in the military to have PTSD.

According to David Yusko, Psy.D., Perelman School of Medicine, PTSD symptoms can develop from experiences involving natural disasters, serious accidents, life-threatening illnesses, physical abuse, and sexual assault during childhood or adulthood.

A traumatic event that precedes the onset of PTSD can be experienced either directly or indirectly by an individual.

Learning how a loved one died a violent death, or watching someone be assaulted, are examples of indirect trauma exposure.

The Difference Between PTSD and Depression

Depression doesn’t just go away overnight, it’s an illness that can be treated with therapy or medication.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric, anxiety disorder that happens after experiencing a horrible event.

Although military veterans constitute a great proportion of cases- PTSD can also be caused by various traumatizing events, for example:

Death of a loved one, family member or friend by suicide or homicide
Directly experiencing or witnessing traumatic events
Serious car accident
Physical assault
Sexual violation
Exposure to actual or threatened death
Abuse (physical, emotional, sexual)
Learning that a traumatic events occurred to a close family member or friend

Common Symptoms of PTSD:

Persistent avoidance of distressing memories
Detachment or estrangement from others
Lack of motivation
Thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic events or of external reminders (i.e., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, situations)
Insomnia
Inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic events (not due to head injury, alcohol, or drugs)
Jumpy/ easily startled
Persistent irritability, anger, lashing out
Nightmares
Memory loss, difficulty recalling recent events unrelated to the trauma
Distorted blame of self or others about the cause/consequences of traumatic events
Persistent fear, horror, guilt, or shame
Exaggerated negative beliefs (e.g., “I’m bad,” “No one can be trusted,” “The world is completely dangerous”)
Diminished interest or participation in significant activities
Persistent inability to experience positive emotions
Numbing or self medicating, drugs and alcohol

Help & Referrals

HelpGuide.org – https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/ptsd-symptoms-self-help-treatment.htm

American Psychiatric Association – https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd

National Institute of Mental Health – https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

Please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website to learn more about other treatment options for PTSD. Additional resources include the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, the VA’s National Center for PTSD, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and any rape crisis center near you.

Source: https://www.anxiety.org/

Florida joins New York and Virginia in requiring yearly mental health courses to public middle and high school students

Florida public schools will be required to teach at least five hours of mental health instruction to all students in sixth through twelfth grades every year.
— Read on abcnews.go.com/US/florida-require-mental-health-courses-public-schools-beginning/story

The Best Thing You Can Do To Help a Depressed Friend

Whenever your friend explains what has happened or how they feel, you don’t need to always follow-up with a story of your own.

Knowing the right thing to say to a friend who’s in a dark place can be challenging. We want to help but may be afraid to say the wrong thing.

Whether your friend is suffering from depression, anxiety or abuse, the single most important thing you can do is, make yourself available.

Research confirms that just reaching out is critical.

Here are five ways to help, with no strings attached.

1. Keep checking in.

Reach out via text or phone call, and do it more than once. Make sure your words are nonjudgmental.

Choose what you say wisely especially when texting. Using a ton of smiley face emojis won’t help them feel better. It could actually do the opposite, making the person feel that you’re minimizing what they’re going through.

2. Meet them where they are.

Meet them where they are, as-in don’t pressure them to “get out”, or do anything else they’re not quite ready to do.

Allow them some space to direct the conversation and discover their own coping skills.

3. Remind them of things that make them happy.

Bringing up memories that you think are funny may not be a good idea; be certain that the memory is equally happy for them.

Be patient and kind, hopefully the conversation will help get them back to a somewhat positive head-space.

4. It’s not about you.

Whenever your friend explains what has happened or how they feel, you don’t need to always follow-up with a story of your own.

It may be tempting to share similar experiences in an effort to prove how much you can relate to their pain. But talking too much about yourself can be counter intuitive.

5. Don’t just say you’re available, prove it.

Continue to reach out even if they don’t respond at first.

Never just say, “Let me know if you need anything” or “I’m here if you need me“. You don’t want to make your friend feel that they’re bothering you.

Individuals suffering from depression or having suicidal thoughts are great at hiding their feelings. It’s just easier for them to say, “I’m OK”.

You don’t always have to have an answer, just listening is the most important help you can give.

What Is Sextortion?

According to the FBI, sextortion cases are up 60 percent in the last five years.

It can happen in a matter of minutes, but the trauma can stay with victims forever.

Unlike cyberbullying, which most parents know about and discuss with their teens, sextortion isn’t on a lot of parents’ radars, leaving kids unguarded and vulnerable to attacks.

Read more…