Perhaps you’ve already seen Alison Downs’ “Unpopular Opinion” piece for xoJane. In addition to appearing on Time’s website, it’s been circulating heavily online. The gist is that the term “PTSD” is being used for comedic effect, and that this isn’t funny to PTSD sufferers. Since the destigmatization of mental health issues is important to us, and likely to you, we wanted to share an excerpt from this timely and insightful article. Please read the excerpt below, and click the link to read the full text. And if you live in the greater Cleveland area and suffer from PTSD, or suspect that you or a loved one might be suffering from PTSD, we are here.
When I hear people use PTSD in improper context, one thing becomes perfectly clear to me: these folks do not understand what I have gone through. The same way people use the term OCD when they mean “particular” or “well-organized,” using PTSD to mean, “I worry I’m going to get a bad haircut,” is alienating to those of us who suffer from the disorder.
PTSD can be a very solitary illness — one of the symptoms is self-isolation — and hearing someone misrepresent it only seems to further drive home the fact that when it comes to our illness, we are truly misunderstood and alone.
During a PTSD flashback, your brain rewinds to the worst moment of your entire life. Then that horrible moment is amplified and played over and over again. Every nasty sight, sound, smell, and physical sensation, replayed in your brain in an infinite loop. You hate it. You don’t want to see it, you don’t want to think about it, but you are powerless to stop it.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) has been shown to help, but there are two caveats: EMDR is expensive, and it also tends to make your flashbacks worse before it makes them better.