PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Roughly 70% of people worldwide will face a traumatic event during their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization, with many of those experiences causing PTSD.
In observance of National Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome Awareness Month, 10 On Your Side is looking into the best ways to treat the condition and how it affects people.
An estimated 13 million Americans are living with PTSD, and they share one thing in common: painful memories they’re working to move past, like local veteran Cole Stevens still managing the disorder years after service.
“I went 50 years of untreated PTSD,” Stevens said.
Stevens served as a medic in the United States Air Force for four years. What he witnessed left him with emotional scars and a disorder he knew nothing of. He’s even witnessed patients die in front of him during treatment.
“It mostly changed my relationship and perception about death,” Stevens said. “The injuries and physical conditions that I saw people in, it was just horrific.”
Tommy Bateman, Sentara Behavioral Health manager, said people often re-experience the traumatic life events through flashbacks or nightmares — and even intrusive thoughts.
“And the problem with that is the part of our brain, the hippocampus, that has to deal with memory,” Bateman said. “That part has been affected by the traumatic event.”
The question many like Stevens ponder is how long does PTSD last? Bateman said it’s not a life sentence.
“There’s so much hope when it comes to getting talk therapy,” Bateman said. “Talking with a psychiatrist to get any pharmaceuticals, if that’s necessary, and connection in groups with others, if you do those three things and taking care of your body, getting plenty of rest and not drinking too much, not producing drugs, getting healthy, doing all those things and learning those techniques to ground yourself, [it] can bring you back to a calm state of mind.”
While Stevens said he’s uncertain if he’ll ever overcome his battle with PTSD, joining the Virginia Beach County Vet Center, which offers therapy and counseling, has helped him better manage his stress. He recommends others do the same.