This is a cause that touches my life in so many ways. Both my husband and I live with PTSD {Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder}. It's always lurking in the shadows; ready to pounce at any moment. Triggers take us both by surprise causing a lot of turmoil for us and our family. I have so much to say on this topic that I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts.
Why don't we start by learning what PTSD actually is and what it does to a person:
"PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is essentially an anxiety disorder. It develops in response to traumatic or life-threatening experiences such as war, sexual assault, accidents, or natural disasters.
Some symptoms of PTSD include:
- Emotional Symptoms: anxiety, anger, depression, irritability, sadness
- Physical Symptoms: tiredness, increased perspiration, high or low blood pressure, trouble digesting food
Stress affects our autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system; these physical systems are all interdependent on each other. How we perceive stress plays an important role in how our bodies respond physically to stress.
High amounts of inflammatory hormones are dumped into our systems in response to stressful or traumatic situations, but these hormones are released even at the memory of trauma. So PTSD can be thought of as an emotional stress overload.
In fact, the latest research shows that PTSD actually causes a part of the brain called the amygdala to shrink. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes emotions and fear. Researchers believe that when the amygdala is smaller, it makes it more difficult for people to process their anxiety resulting from trauma." (http://www.ptsdalliance.org/about-ptsd/)
Take a minute to think about everything that trauma does to the human body; it's incredible. Clearly a person diagnosed with PTSD cannot easily control their symptoms. Please stop telling people with PTSD (or any mental illness for that matter) that they can just decide to stop having an illness. It's irrational and, frankly, damaging to the person you're spouting off to.
You're probably wondering what caused my PTSD. Honestly, I don't know which event in my life officially shrank my amygdala; but I'm a survivor of childhood sexual and physical abuse, sexual assault, rape and domestic violence. It's likely that I got PTSD as a child but was further traumatized as an adult.
One thing that is very upsetting to me is the misuse of the word "trigger" in the land of politics. Triggers are a very real and often terrifying experience for people living with PTSD and this abuse of the word minimizes this. So, if you're some one who misuses the word "trigger" please stop because you're actually part of the problem with our society not taking mental illness seriously.
What exactly is a trigger?
"When faced with danger, your body gets ready to fight, flee, or freeze. Your heart beats faster. Your senses go on high alert. Your brain stops some of its normal functions to deal with the threat. This includes your short-term memory. With PTSD, your brain doesn’t process the trauma the right way. It doesn’t file the memory of the event as being in the past. The result: You feel stressed and frightened even when you know you’re safe.
The brain attaches details, like sights or smells, to that memory. These become triggers. They act like buttons that turn on your body’s alarm system. When one of them is pushed, your brain switches to danger mode. This may cause you to become frightened and your heart to start racing. The sights, sounds, and feelings of the trauma may come rushing back. This is called a flashback." (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-ptsd-triggers#1)
Notice that this does not say that a trigger is something that a person just doesn't like hearing or seeing? That's because that's NOT what a trigger is. I truly hope this educates at least one person and helps them decide to stop misusing this term. I know it's a long shot but I am the Hopelessly Hopeful Housewife after all.
Maybe in honor on PTSD Awareness Month I will write some in depth entries on some of the traumatic events in my life and the triggers that I have as a result. I'll need to mentally prepare myself to unpack those boxes though so please be patient with me!
I'm off to hang out with the family and pick up some of my anti-anxiety meds from CVS so I'm out for now!
Stay wonderful followers 😀
