In terms of PTSD, that trauma can take many forms. It could be a car accident, a sexual assault, or an explosion, for example. PTSD is diagnosed if symptoms — flashbacks, social anxiety, and nightmares among them — persist for a month or more and negatively affect a person’s everyday life. (1) The experience of trauma is fairly common. About 6 in every 10 men and 5 out of every 10 women in the United States will experience at least one trauma in their lives. Beyond that, roughly 6 percent of the total population in this country will have PTSD at some point in their lives. In any given year, 12 million people are reported to have PTSD in the United States. (2) Considering how common the condition is, you might be surprised that PTSD remains fairly misunderstood. “I would say there is a lot that people don’t always understand about PTSD,” says Tara Emrani, PhD, a psychologist based in New York City. “In my experience, it’s one of those conditions that has a lot of incorrect assumptions floating around it.” Here are five common myths people believe about PTSD — and why they aren’t true.
1. Military Veterans Are the Only Ones Who Get PTSD
Though factually false, the belief that PTSD affects only military veterans who’ve experienced war-related trauma is understandable. After all, it was just in 1980 — five years after the Vietnam War ended — that the American Psychiatric Association added PTSD to its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (then in its third edition). Of course, the symptoms associated with the condition had always existed for people who suffered after a traumatic event, but this was the first cohort to be given a diagnosis of PTSD. (3) This misconception can be harmful. A person who has experienced trauma and is showing symptoms of PTSD may not be compelled to seek out a diagnosis because he or she hasn’t been in the military and doesn’t associate PTSD with other forms of trauma, Dr. Emrani says. In reality, PTSD can affect people who have been through a sexual assault, people who have experienced car accidents and terrorist attacks, and people who have suffered from domestic abuse and lived through national disasters. Also contrary to popular belief, a person doesn’t have to face a life-threatening trauma to develop PTSD. For instance, learning that a loved one experienced trauma could lead to PTSD. (4)
2. PTSD Is a Chronic Condition That Can’t Be Treated Effectively
Another myth about PTSD is that this mental illness can’t be treated. This is certifiably false. There are countless treatments available for people who are dealing with the effects of a traumatic event. The National Institute for Mental Health provides an overview of some of these treatment options. (4)
Psychotherapy Psychotherapy is also known as “talk therapy.” This involves speaking with a mental health professional, and it could take place one-on-one with a psychiatrist or psychologist or in a group setting. You might use relaxation and anger-management skills to deal with examining your reaction to the trauma. A therapist may also provide you with sleep, diet, and fitness tips to help you change your day-to-day living habits.Exposure Therapy This type of psychotherapy involves facing and managing your fears. This means that a therapist could expose you to your triggers (things that remind you of your trauma) by using mental imagery of the trauma or having you visit the site of a traumatic event.Cognitive Processing This is another type of psychotherapy that aims to help you make sense of bad memories associated with your trauma. You may feel guilt or shame about your trauma, and a therapist would help you reexamine why you feel this way.Medications Antidepressants are the most common medications used to help PTSD. These medications could help lessen your feelings of sadness, anger, and anxiety. They might be prescribed in addition to your psychotherapy sessions. Always ask your physician or healthcare provider for the medications and prescriptions that make the most sense for managing your symptoms.
“One of the biggest myths out there is that a person with PTSD is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode,” says Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, the chair of psychiatry at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. “There is this sense that all people who have PTSD are unstable. Now, it is true that people with PTSD are likely to be irritable, but PTSD has a wide range of symptoms and this idea that everyone who has PTSD is going to explode is a mischaracterization.” (4) Rather, people affected by PTSD tend to exhibit avoidance symptoms, leading them to be socially withdrawn and prone to being scared of encountering anything that could potentially trigger memories of their traumas. (5) The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cites one study that looked at violent activity among incarcerated veterans. At the time, the veteran population in the United States was 24 million, and out of this number, there were 140,000 veterans in prison. Of that population, about 21,000 had been convicted of murder. This made up less than 1⁄10 of 1 percent for the entire veteran population at large, showing that violence was an outlier in this particular population at that time. (6)
4. If Trauma Happened Long Ago, You’re Automatically ‘Over It’
PTSD can be triggered years after a person experiences trauma. Symptoms usually show up about three months after a traumatic event, but you could develop the condition years, even decades, later. (7) That can be especially true when it comes to trauma experienced at a young age. “Someone could experience a childhood trauma and never process it until much later,” Emrani says. “It could be something they never talked about and then something happens during their adulthood to trigger that memory and it could start exacerbating symptoms of PTSD. This is often seen in people who experienced childhood physical or sexual abuse. They might have suppressed memories of this trauma and then are triggered later on when they are adults.” (8) Dr. Cameron Ritchie cites the example of Vietnam veterans. Many of them experienced their trauma about 50 years ago but are affected by trigger events for their PTSD decades later. (9) “A lot of times people might say, ‘Oh, that person who has PTSD is weak, they’re easily susceptible to trauma.’ I just want to debunk that right now,” she says. “It is not a weakness and it isn’t something that people ‘should just get over,’ as they might be told by misinformed people. In fact, I would say it’s the opposite; it’s rather courageous when people come forward to seek treatment and help and are open to discussing and exploring their trauma.” PTSD is a serious, chronic mental health condition, and it isn’t something to take as a joke. Given that many people who experience PTSD have experienced trauma from sexual assaults or major life-threatening accidents, it can take years and decades to get over the lasting effects of those kinds of experiences. (7) “If your leg is broken, you go to the doctor and get a cast, and eventually have to ease back into running,” Emrani says. “No one says, ‘Go run’ immediately. PTSD is like that. If you are suffering from trauma of some kind, it takes a long time to work through that. It is nothing close to a weakness or something anyone should feel guilty about.”
