Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be a challenging mental health issue to manage, especially considering it's unique to each and every individual. However, a common trigger for many people with PTSD is their “trauma anniversary,” or the date that a traumatic incident or event occurred. In fact, a trauma anniversary (and the weeks leading up to it) can be one of the most difficult times during the year for people who live with PTSD. Fortunately, mental health experts say there are ways to prepare for an upcoming trauma anniversary that can help you feel more empowered to tackle the triggers and negative feelings that may arise on the date.
“A trauma anniversary, or anniversary reaction, is the recurrence of emotional and/or physical distress experienced around the time of a past traumatic event or experience," Devon Hawes, a Clinician at Mountainside treatment center, tells Bustle. "It can reactivate thoughts and feelings from the actual traumatic event.”
According to the Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute, a mental health organization, an estimated one in thirteen people in the U.S. will develop PTSD in their lifetime, and around 13 million U.S. adults have PTSD at any given time. PTSD can be caused by a number of different events and situations, but trauma anniversaries are oftentimes a shared experience among those with PTSD.
[To read the rest of this article by Kyli Rodriguez-Cayro, click here.]
[Image: Hannah Burton/Bustle]
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