Many of us have become so fixated on time that we have not taken a moment to open our eyes to what and who is around us. We often forget that the concept of “next time” may be too late.
On the October 2, 2016, a soldier, son, friend, brother, and HCC alumnus Jake Pettit life came to a turn.
Michael Baratta, a friend of Pettit, remembers him fondly, “Jake Pettit was a good friend of mine, he looked out for me and many other people. He did two tours in Afghanistan and moved back to Fairfield, CT and then started college and career in Connecticut. He graduated from HCC in May of 2016. On October 2nd of 2016, Jake committed suicide due to having PTSD, Michael Baratta explained.
PTSD also know as Post traumatic Stress Disorder was made known to the public after veterans returned home from war. According to ptsdusa.org, "Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood."
In recent years, our suicide epidemic has grown and one of the causes is PTSD.
“PTSD is NOT just a military thing. There are everyday people walking around here that have PTSD and don't have knowledge if it,” says military veteran Jeff Stewart, who runs the Veteran’s Oasis on campus.
Even though PTSD has been related to the after effects of war, Dr. Indira Reddy, Counselor at HCC, agrees with Stewart: “While PTSD affects everyone from all walks of life, there is a difference in the magnitude of traumatic experiences and how individuals adapt and cope and become functional. It depends on the person’s resilience, adaptation, availability of support and treatment.”
Linda Wolfson, another Counselor at HCC, notes, “People remain alive before they have died. We have a wonderful way of keeping people alive but what they are experiencing is just in some ways as bad as death.”
PTSD is a mental health condition that can affect anybody. There is no age difference, there is no gender difference, and there is no nationality difference. It cuts across these categories, but the expression of it can be individually different.
When someone has PTSD there are sudden changes that can trigger you and not every traumatized individual develops this disorder. The symptoms vary: some people aren’t able to sleep, others experience anger, depression, flashbacks, or anxiety. It takes at least one month from the traumatic event for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD. If the symptoms are present at the moment then the doctor will perform a physical exam and look into your medical history. If no physical illness is found, then your doctor will refer you to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health professional who is specially trained to diagnose and treat you.
The positive thing about PTSD is that there is hope. The negative thing about PTSD is that there isn’t enough awareness and ta lot of people have no clue about it. If Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is spoken about more like sports and celebrities then the public can become more aware of this disorder.
Some people may care if they are aware and others may not care if they are unaware. All we can do is try and spread awareness about things that matter to us to all that can better the people and the environment.
PEACE.
The cover photo is from: Pixbayhttps://pixabay.com/en/photos/smoke/