Overview

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after you have experienced a traumatic event. PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not happen until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years. If the symptoms last longer than 4 weeks, cause you great distress, or interfere with your work/home life, you probably have PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD include reliving the event, avoiding places or things that remind you of the event, feeling numb, and feeling keyed up (also called hyperarousal). If you think you have PTSD, it is important to get treatment. There are good treatments available for PTSD -- treatment can help you get better.

Screening
Although most Veterans will readjust smoothly, the most common mental health problems faced by returning troops are posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Anyone who has gone through an event such as combat can develop PTSD.

You may be wondering if you have symptoms of PTSD.  To develop PTSD, a person must have gone through a trauma. Almost all people who go through trauma have some symptoms as a result. Yet most people do not get PTSD.  A person who went through trauma can take a screen to see if he or she could have PTSD. A screen is a very short list of questions just to see if a person needs to be assessed further. A positive screen does not mean a person has PTSD. A positive screen means that this person should be assessed further by a mental health provider. My healthevet offers a confidential, anonymous screen for PTSD.  None of the results are stored or sent anywhere. You can choose to print a copy of the results for your own records or to give to your physician or a mental health professional.

VA Programs & Services

• VA PTSD Program Locator: The program locator will help you find local VA PTSD programs.
• National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD): This website contains in-depth information on PTSD and traumatic stress. You can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions About PTSD; Fact Sheets on Common Reactions; information about the effects of trauma on Family and Friends; and much more.
  
  
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy: The VA provides at least one of two evidence based treatments for PTSD at all VA Medical Centers. These effective therapies are Prolonged Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
• My healthevet - PTSD: This site provides basic information on diagnosis, symptoms and treatment.
• MakeTheConnection.net: Visit this site to view hundreds of stories from Veterans of all service eras who have overcome mental health challenges. MakeTheConnection.net is a one-stop resource where Veterans and their families and friends can privately explore information on mental health issues, hear fellow Veterans and their families share their stories of resilience, and easily find and access the support and resources they need.
  • Watch video testimonials from Veterans who have overcome PTSD, and to learn more about PTSD, its symptoms, and treatment.
  
  

Articles & Fact Sheets

Articles

• Facing Bad Memories at the Wall…and Moving On, Leaving PTSD Behind: In this article, Vietnam Veteran Paul Middleton shares his story of recovery from PTSD.
• Facing Down PTSD, Vet is Now Soaring High: This article tells the story of Vietnam Veteran Steven Kraus, who reached out to the VA for help, and successfully recovered from PTSD.

Fact Sheets

• Treatment of PTSD Fact Sheet: This fact sheet explains some of the different approaches that are widely used to treat PTSD. It also contains information on what to expect during treatment such as, treatment duration, what you will work on in therapy, and what you can expect from your therapist.
• Children Coping with Deployment: This fact sheet provides some general information on how to talk to children about deployment. 

Other Resources

General Resources

• After Deployment*: This site is a behavioral health resource supporting service members, their families, and Veterans with common post-deployment challenges. Their mission is to provide self-care solutions targeting PTSD, depression, and other behavioral health challenges.
• Real Warriors*: This site is part of the Real Warriors Campaign launched to promote the process of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, Veterans and their families. The site contains information for a number of audiences including Veterans, Active Duty, Families and Health Professionals.

Resources for Families

• Children and Teens: Web Resources: This web page provides a list of links that offer information specific to children and teenagers dealing with trauma.
• Sesame Workshop: “When Families Grieve”*: When Families Grieve is a continuation of Sesame Workshop’s award-winning Talk, Listen, Connect initiative, providing resources and emotional support to military families with young children coping with a challenging life transition.