{"id":7185,"date":"2025-07-30T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7185"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:30:00","slug":"dont-stay-silent-about-ptsd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7185","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t stay silent about PTSD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tni-source-date\"><strong>Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-07-30T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n<p>After a traumatic event, it\u2019s normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge or have trouble sleeping. At first, it may be hard to do normal daily activities like go to work or spend time with people you care about. However, if it\u2019s been longer than a few months and you still have symptoms, you may have PTSD. For some people, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/?s=PTSD+symptoms\">PTSD symptoms<\/a> may start later on, or they may come and go over time.<\/p>\n<p>The good news for Veterans is that VA is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ptsd.va.gov\/index.asp\" rel=\"noopener\">national leader in treating PTSD<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When Army Veteran Kevin Jones, an infantryman who served four years in Iraq, began experiencing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ptsd.va.gov\/understand\/what\/ptsd_basics.asp\" rel=\"noopener\">PTSD symptoms<\/a>, he knew he needed help.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reaching out for help<\/h2>\n<p>\u00a0\u201cPTSD can significantly impact those experiencing it, affecting every aspect of a person\u2019s life, but it\u2019s important to know that there is always someone out there to reach out to for help, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/atlanta-health-care\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Atlanta VA<\/a> doctors or fellow Veterans,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Joseph McGee acknowledged that for some service members and Veterans, one of the barriers to asking for help is that they don\u2019t want others to know they\u2019re getting treatment for mental and emotional issues.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201c<\/strong>For those who served, there is a lot of stigma associated with PTSD treatment, since it can be perceived as a sign of weakness,\u201d McGee said.<strong> \u201c<\/strong>However, the good news is that Veterans dealing with PTSD do not have to suffer silently because treatment is available, it works and it\u2019s within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jones and McGee offer an important piece of advice for Veterans and service members dealing with PTSD: acknowledge the problem, find something that works and don\u2019t stay silent.<\/p>\n<p>VA offers a number of different PTSD treatment options that work and can help you regain a sense of control over your life. You and your VA health care provider can decide together which treatment is best for you\u2014based on benefits, risks, side effects and other preferences. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive 24\/7 confidential support. You don\u2019t have to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to connect. To reach responders, dial 988 then press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net\/Chat or text 838255.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s never too late to apply for the VA health care you\u2019ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for their VA health care benefits, learn how to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.choose.va.gov\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">get started<\/a>.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"tni-attribution\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/141315\/dont-stay-silent-about-ptsd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Atlanta Veterans share their stories in hopes of bringing more attention to how PTSD affects service members and Veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care","category-mental-health-recovery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t stay silent about PTSD - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two Atlanta Veterans share their stories in hopes of bringing more attention to how PTSD affects service members and Veterans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7185\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t stay silent about PTSD - 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