When I mention my diagnosis of PTSD to those who don’t really know anything about my back story, I inevitability get the question, “are you a soldier?” While it is true the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is most affiliated in the public realm with war and soldier responsibilities, it is NOT true that a diagnosis of PTSD can only stem from war.
Because PTSD is a complicated diagnosis, I would encourage you to read more about by clicking the following link: http://www.mental-health-today.com/ptsd/dsm.htm As always, remember that the trauma is in the eye of the beholder, thus creating situations for PTSD in virtually all aspects of life, not just war.
Unfortunately, even where PTSD is most affiliated in society’s collective mindset, questions about diagnosis, effective therapy, and successful outcomes still remain. Because of the stigma attached to PTSD, and the politics surrounding “too many” diagnosed soldiers, often many of our brave men and women are undiagnosed and untreated.
My point is, society has a long way to go in understanding PTSD. Even in the most connected realm of war and soldier’s PTSD, there still remains many gaps in both diagnosis and treatment. There are incredibly enormous gaps of understanding PTSD in other areas of society, besides war. I hope that PTSD, no matter where it stems from, can move into the collective forefront of society’s mindset in the near future.
Thanks for reading,
Lauren
peaceoutofpieces 
pragmaticnotperfectparenting Said:
on March 23, 2012 at 7:52 pm
I wish we did a better job of recognizing the potential of birth to traumatize women. A better job of understanding when birth is likely to be traumatic for a particular woman. A better job of preventing birth from being traumatic in the first place.
Expectations and experience – the gap is just too big, and I sometimes think that maybe PTSD is the minds way of trying to bridge that gap.
peace4lauren Said:
on March 26, 2012 at 6:56 pm
Recognizing the potential of birth to traumatize women is what I hope this blog conveys. Getting the word out there that birth trauma is real, devastating, and at times, preventable, is an essential component of the mission of peace out of pieces.-Lauren
Mrs.W Said:
on March 23, 2012 at 7:56 pm
I wish we measured rates of post-natal PTSD as much as we measure rates of cesarean sections and infant mortality. I wish we better understood this particular problem, I wish we could prevent it, I wish we were ‘on the lookout’ for post-natal PTSD in the same way that we are ‘on the lookout’ for post-partum depression.
I believe that for many women – when there is a huge gap between experience and expectation, that PTSD is a likely outcome – how else is a mind supposed to explain to a woman what happend to herself?
peace4lauren Said:
on March 26, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Mrs. W- I wish all these things too.-Lauren
Kimberly M (@momgosomething) Said:
on March 26, 2012 at 1:51 am
I am a registered nurse and we briefly touched on postpartum depression and I can guarentee you that we never learned about PTSD.
I didn’t have a traumatic birth but the events that followed were. I had a severe allergic reaction to the epidural and I swelled. Massive rash. I skin looked like it was burned.
Painful.
So painful.
PTSD can result from anything traumatic. And it’s awful.
peace4lauren Said:
on March 26, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Kim-Thanks for an insight from the medical community. It is really scary the lack of understanding from some medical professionals regarding postpartum PTSD. My guess is that it is just not taught (as you suggest).
I am sorry to hear about your experience. As you know, trauma is in the eye of the beholder, and it does not matter when or where it occurs-the resulting PTSD is the same. Painful, awful, devastating.-Lauren