Metro East Sun

Illinois State Representative Mike Coffey acknowledged the importance of PTSD Awareness Month in a Facebook post published last Tuesday.

"Let’s work together on helping the people who suffer from PTSD and provide them with the resources they need to become healthy again and regain their mental health," Coffey wrote. "Treatment options and resources can be found in the link below. #PTSDAwarenessMonth."

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported that PTSD symptoms typically start soon after the initial traumatic event, but they may also not appear until months or years later. They may also come and go as time goes on. If the symptoms last for over four weeks, cause great distress or interfere with your work or home life, you may have PTSD. There are four types of symptoms, but the experiences of the symptoms may differ between individuals and may not be felt the same for children and adults. The four symptoms are the following: reliving the traumatic event; avoiding things that remind you of the event; having increased negative thoughts and feelings from before the event happened; and feeling on edge or keyed up.

The VA also stated that there are no concrete figures regarding how many people have PTSD for multiple reasons, including the following; there is no single study that asks everyone about PTSD; sufferers may not remember getting diagnosed by a doctor if asked by a study; studies regarding trauma history and current PTSD symptoms need to conducted with a sample of people who represent all Americans; and during different points in time, such as during a war or pandemic, more people may be at risk of developing PTSD. The VA believes that veterans are more likely to develop PTSD than civilians, and 8% of all women and 4% of all men are also expected to develop PTSD in their lifetimes.

According to the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, there are a number of events that could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, such as violent personal assaults, disasters, and combat. Not everyone who experiences the aforementioned situations will develop PTSD, however. The Chicago School also lists multiple statistics regarding PTSD to be aware of, including the following: About 7-8 out of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives; about half of those with PTSD may recover without treatment in three months; and children can be diagnosed with PTSD if long-term symptoms last over a month.