5 Ways to Support a Loved One with PTSD
When a loved one is living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), supporting them can feel overwhelming, especially if they may not recognize their own trauma or are hesitant to seek help. Here are five simple, actionable ways that you can support a loved one with PTSD – from listening without judgment to helping loved ones access trauma-informed care. With insights from Lundbeck and Families for Depression Awareness (FFDA), it’s a quick guide to being a steady presence in the healing process.
First, what is PTSD? PTSD is a condition that can develop in individuals after experiencing or seeing a life threatening or traumatic event(s). Traumatic experiences that can lead to PTSD include events like sexual relationship violence, physical abuse by a partner, participating in or witnessing violence, childhood physical abuse, combat experience, and exposure to other life-threatening events. What triggers PTSD can vary widely among individuals. Adult women with PTSD account for two-thirds of the overall PTSD population in the U.S. The lifetime rate of PTSD in women (12.8%) is approximately twice that of men (5.7%).
Providing support to those living with PTSD is not easy. However, these actionable steps can help you in your efforts to be actively involved and provide good support:
Listen without judgment.
When your loved one is ready to talk, make sure you listen without judgement and talk about the trauma relative to when it occurred. It can be helpful for people with PTSD to talk through the trauma by discussing the timeline of events, the circumstances surrounding it, and the others involved. The opportunity to put events in order and make some sense out of chaos often has a calming effect and gives a person a sense of control. If the event is perceived realistically, it’s more likely your loved one will recognize the relationship between the trauma and their distressed feelings.
Make a connection.
Help your loved one connect the trauma with the difficult emotions or other symptoms they are experiencing. Not taking the trauma seriously enough may be the result of the length of time since the trauma event or due to how the event fits into their worldview. Helping your loved one identify traumatic experiences, recognize their significance, and determine how that experience may affect their daily life, may help them become open to the possibility of seeking additional support.
Ensure your loved one is aware of and utilizes the support available to them.
It is not unusual for people living with PTSD to underuse support systems. Help your loved one make a list of all the support that is available, including members of the healthcare community (e.g., primary care physician, nurse practitioner, mental health professionals), or family and friends. Effectively using available support can help your loved one better work through the trauma and may prevent them from slipping into unhelpful behaviors, such as substance use or other disruptive behaviors.
Encourage the use of consistent coping strategies.
Explore the use of healthy coping mechanisms, such as ways of relieving stress and anxiety, can also help to identify trauma and the need to access trauma-informed care. Ask your loved one what has worked previously, and if they have tried to use those coping mechanisms to address this situation. Oftentimes, trauma is identified when a person – because of the severity of shock of the event – is unable to use the coping behaviors they’ve previously used or considered helpful.
Support a Loved One with PTSD to start treatment.
Support loved ones in accessing trauma-informed care, which is essential in moving toward diagnosis and disease management. Unfortunately, up to 65% of those living with PTSD believe they would be seen as weak for seeking care, and up to 74% think they should be able to cope with the problem on their own, leaving many suffering unnecessarily. PTSD undertreatment is associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including higher risk of long-term PTSD, deterioration of family and social relationships, risk of isolation and distress, poor quality of life, suicide attempts, and risk of mortality.
If you or a loved one is experiencing PTSD, remember: support is available. FFDA offers a family action plan template for addressing challenges, as well as resources for caregivers to support their own health and well-being.
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