More on PTSD and where to educate yourself

PTSD is something I try to pay very close attention to since my husband suffers from it. There are people out there with PTSD that are worse off than my husband, and I do not disregard their struggles. It is not easy for the one who suffers from PTSD nor is it easy for the family and friends that surround this individual.

The entire process has its ups and downs. There are good days and bad days as well as those in between days. I, personally, have found that living with someone with PTSD can be similar in ways to having another full time job. I have found that I must remind my husband (or at least inquire) regularly to take his medication. The meds that they have put him on have really made a big difference in his behavior and daily functions, which makes it very important for him to be on them daily. Missing some doses can be very rough. not just for him, but for anyone that interacts with him.

Here a few weeks ago he had forgotten to take his pills for a few days. I had noticed that he was a bit grumpier than normal, but attributed to work and the upcoming tests at college. Then one day he went from simply being grumpy to straight up pissed off. He was horrible to deal with let alone even try to have a conversation with. After two days of this attitude (or so I thought it was), I came home from work to find him laying in bed when he should have been at work. I tried to be funny and joked with him, but he responded quite meanly to my bantering. This is when he told me he had come home because he hadn’t taken is pills in a few days and was beginning to feel rather violent. He told me he didn’t think it was a good day to deal with customers. (I can believe that one from first hand experience.) It was at this moment that I realized just how things had been over the last few days and with finding out about him not taking his pills realized it explained manythings. It is amazing how easy it can be to just blame the bad actions of a person on them as if they are intentionally trying to be a terrible person. This isn’t to say the actions should be excused, but actually looked at more closely as to why a person is putting these actions forth. While we all have our faults, I know that when my husband is on his medications and has a bad day…it is like anyone’s “bad day”. However, when he doesn’t take his medications and has a bad day…you can believe there is a huge unmistakable difference.

This is a large reason for education and awareness. I have been checking out a site that is filled with information and resources. I feel better being armed with knowledge these days then I did a few years ago before he was diagnosed and we were just “living” with “his issues”. This really is something that effects the entire family.

Check out the pages and get more information to help yourself or your loved ones.  You can also search the PILOTS database for publications related to PTSD. These links are for PTSD and are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, however they do not limit the information to only Veterans.

The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder website:        http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/information/

About PILOTS database:     http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/publications/pilots/index.html

Information from Military.com. One this page you can find an overview and quite a few links to other information sources for veterans: http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/ptsd-overview