In addition to June being recognized as Dairy Appreciation month, it was also Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness month.
Although farming in and of itself is a stressful calling, the subject of PTSD brings with it far greater implications and considerations. First, let’s look at what PTSD actually is and what it isn’t. PTSD is the result of exposure to high stress and traumatic events. These could be one singular event that has a significant impact on our stress response system, or an exposure to continued trauma that is more cumulative and results in behavior change and/ or mood changes when similar events or memories of events occur.
It is important to note that many of us have been exposed to stressful situations, and once that situation or event is removed, we typically return to our prior state of mind, knowing that we are in a safer environment. The presence of PTSD is when those feelings of anxiety or fear remain long after we are removed from that specific traumatic event or environment. It could be an image, a smell or a sound that brings us back to that place, and without warning, we feel as though we are right back in that moment.
It is also important to clarify that what may cause PTSD for one person may not cause it for the next. Each person’s threshold for both stress and trauma varies greatly, but the response and outcomes may be very similar.
What PTSD is not is simply a bad recollection of a negative situation or a stressful event. We all have memories of negative experiences or bad days, but remembering those unfortunate events does not bring with it a physiological transformation, leaving us temporarily paralyzed in our own bodies.
The recognition of what PTSD is and what we can do to both assist those struggling with it, as well as provide tools to prevent it, is important. As loved ones, we need to be supportive in both recognizing and supporting those struggling with PTSD by getting them to the resources that can begin the journey of overcoming this challenge. In these cases, it is not trying to forget the events or suppress the memories, but rather to make peace with them and incorporate them into our individual healing process.
For others, it is gaining the skills to minimize the effects of trauma before they happen. This has been the emphasis for those of us in the Resiliency training community, as this is truly a skill to be learned. Once you have the ability to effectively process stress and trauma, you are more likely to effectively function in its aftermath. As simple a comparison as it is, we are one of two versions of ourselves: the egg or the tennis ball. When faced with adversity and trauma, we can either shatter or bounce back. Mental Resiliency provides the skills to bounce back.
It is through both professional and personal relationships that this transition is made possible. We need to normalize our interactions with mental health specialists just as we do with medical health specialists. We need to be comfortable as family and friends to discuss such topics as PTSD. We need to make sure that no one is struggling in their journey after a traumatic event, or even worse, to minimize what they have experienced. We need to be there for each other so that we all have the resources and support to transition from PTSD to PTSG. It is in those resources and support systems that we transition from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Post Traumatic Stress Growth. For more information on this subject, feel free to visit: www.ptsd.va.gov
