The Transition House Blog

Consider this: 1 in 5 Americans experience a mental health condition each year. This ranges from common anxiety disorders to more serious conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Depending on the diagnosis, symptoms may be temporary and subside over time. However, a more serious diagnosis may require treatment such as therapy and medication to help manage symptoms. Treatment can last for a few weeks or months, and may even span an entire lifetime.

Trauma is an emotional and psychological response that occurs when a person experiences something frightening, upsetting or disturbing. Traumatic experiences can range from natural disasters to military combat and could include events like surviving a car accident or sexual assault. Feeling anxiety, nervousness or grief after a traumatic event is common. Fortunately, most people are resilient and are able to recover after a traumatic experience. Here are a few things you can do to cope with trauma.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic, dangerous, scary or shocking event. Traumatic events can include natural disasters, terrorist attacks, sexual assault, abuse, car accidents, military combat or the loss of a loved one.

Traumatic experiences aren’t rare. The National Center for PTSD, which is part of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, conducts research on trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. They estimate that half of Americans have experienced a traumatic event. Men who have experienced a traumatic event have a 1 in 10 chance of developing PTSD, and women have a 1 in 5 chance of doing so. If you have experienced trauma, you should know that you are not alone and that there is treatment for PTSD available.

Servicemen and women have always taken care of their physical health. In today’s world, mental health is just as important.

While military life can be rewarding, it is also difficult. According to a study conducted in 2014, 1 in 4 active duty members showed signs of a mental health condition. The mental health concerns of veterans are unique. Things you might have seen or experienced during your time in the military can affect your long term mental health, and make it difficult to transition to civilian life. Even veterans that have successfully transitioned may have lingering mental health concerns.

When you think of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), what is the first thing that comes to mind? Soldiers in war zones, probably. For most, PTSD is widely associated with the United States Military and combat soldiers. What most people are unaware of, though, is how the average person can suffer from PTSD at any given time, too. An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives.

We all experience anxiety from time to time. It’s a normal part of life, a function of the body’s involuntary fight-or-flight response system. Fear of failure before a big test or nervousness ahead of a public speaking engagement, for example, are natural reactions to stress. Short-term anxiety can even be beneficial in certain situations, perhaps motivating us to perform better or prepare more for specific events.