[cookie00]

I am a social work student interested in learning about PTSD. How to help veterans/military families cope.

ok & so?

plenty of resources available. contact the VA, contact your school, state, etc. read the boards here...but you have to do the work..no one will do it for you...

[Crew]

Bless you in your endevors....

The military families and soldiers need people like yourself.

Way to go at seeing the need and then doing something about it.

too bad more ppl can't be like you......

crew

[RapidFlyer]

Best Wishes in your endevors. That's a wonderful goal as far as I am concerned.

There is a lot of information out there to be found.

I sent you a PM. I am a combat veteran, a medical provider and a sufferer of PTSD. Feel free to get in touch with me.

[Open Eyes]

Hi cookie00 if you click on the forum and click on different threads you can read some of the struggles and support that members here discuss.

It is nice to know that someone is truely trying to understand what people with PTSD deal with and how sometimes they struggle to find help. I think it is great that if you do become a social worker that if you become really well read about the signs of someone struggling with PTSD you can direct them to getting the help they need. Many people that have the symptoms for PTSD do not know what it means or that they are struggling with it. If you become a social worker and can identify their signs I think that is wonderful and it is a very responsible caring thing to desire to learn about.

Open Eyes

[cookie00]

What are some interventions for dealing with flashbacks and dealing with large crowds?

[Open Eyes]

Cookie00,
That is a good question and your going to get mostly answers of people who tend to isolate and avoid alot. The main problem with people who suffer from PTSD is that it is an anxiety disorder that can become very disabling because the situations your describing can be very triggering and create a sudden bout of severe anxiety. And what happens is the body of a person who suffers can suddenly fill with cortizol and after the first 7 minutes that flood begins to create an overwhelming sense of confusion in the brain. So what most people who suffer do is often run and hide and not truely realizing it, tend to avoid these situations that bring on that sense of being overwhelmed. Stablizing a person who is in the throws of an anxiety attack is a challenge and should include them being removed from noise and extra stimulation and providing a quiet space with a presense that is quietly supportive and soothing.
Often a guide of helping is slowly talking to the person suffering and telling them to repeat to themselves to only focus on the moment, that everything else is not important, repeat that over and over in a very safe quiet atmosphere. Also medication to treat the anxiety can and may be administered to help the person relax and calm down.

Never, address a person experiencing this in a loud controling manner, it can make them worse.

What you can do is research this as well on line by typing your question in the search bar for PTSD. I have found that I have gotten more information by asking questions rather than just typing in PTSD.

Open Eyes