Parkland and Pulse PTSD is Real
The Valentine’s Day School Massacre in Parkland was over a year ago, and the Pulse massacre was over two years ago; yet for some it feels much longer. Why? The human brain reacts to life-threatening trauma differently than it does with daily stressors. Some people feel like time stands still, while others feel like time is racing by them. Here is a breakdown of the signs/symptoms of the two most common paths that develop after a community shooting. First is to notice the dangerous path of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD), which develops differently in people based on their exposure to the trauma, age, availability of social supports, use of healthy coping skills and previous experiences with trauma. PTSD is a very real and often life-threatening condition that does not improve without intervention. It can cause a state of intense anxiety, hyper-arousal, or panic which can lead to self-destructive behavior like substance abuse to try and cope with the intensity of ove...