National PTSD Awareness Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about PTSD

On June 27, we discuss PTSD, a complex disorder resulting from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. The trauma required to cause PTSD can originate from a variety of events, including accidents, combat, natural disasters, and assaults, but there are additional causes of PTSD symptoms. PTSD must be diagnosed by a trained professional based on symptoms such as hypervigilance, mood fluctuations, repeated and involuntary flashbacks to the trauma, and avoidance. The National Centre for PTSD has designated the entire month of June as PTSD Awareness Month; you can support their campaign by educating yourself and others about the disorder and offering assistance to those who may require it.

The background of National PTSD Awareness Day

PTSD, in one form or another, has been well-documented in humans for centuries. In 50 B.C., a poem was written about the disorder for the first time. Hippocrates described a traumatic battle experience involving a soldier who was plagued by combat flashbacks similar to PTSD. Since then, PTSD has been frequently discussed, most notably during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France and even in Shakespeare’s works, including Romeo and Juliet.

During the Civil War in the 1800s, a new understanding of PTSD emerged as the disorder spread throughout the traumatised country. PTSD was referred to by numerous names, including “railway spine.” In 1915, some comprehension of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was formally introduced into medical literature under the name “shell shock.”

During World War I, primitive therapies, such as electric shock therapy, were attempted for the disease. Not until the 1950s were more contemporary remedies, such as group therapy, introduced.

The Vietnam War produced a new comprehension of the disorder once more. This coincided with research conducted by psychologists on Holocaust victims and rape victims, which helped demonstrate that a variety of traumatic experiences can contribute to PTSD.

Today, it is primarily considered treatable, so we have made significant progress. Senator Kent Conrad urged the Senate to recognise June 27 as National PTSD Awareness Day, and the Senate complied. Conrad desired to honour a North Dakota National Guardsman who committed suicide after serving two deployments in Iraq. In 2014, the Senate designated the entire month of June as National PTSD Awareness Month.

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5 IMPORTANT FACTS REGARDING PTSD

It may seem like a modest number, but 3.5% of American adults suffer from PTSD, which amounts to 8 million individuals.

10% of women and only 4% of men are likely to develop PTSD, making the likelihood of developing the illness in women more than twice as likely as in men.

An estimated 30% of Vietnam War veterans have experienced PTSD in their lifetimes. 12 percent of Gulf War veterans have PTSD, and 11 to 20 percent of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans have PTSD.

It appears that minors can exhibit PTSD symptoms, albeit in a manner distinct from that of adults. Research is still in its infancy, and there is much more to learn about the topic.

Literature, such as Shakespeare and Dickens, provides some of our earliest knowledge of PTSD. They wrote about traumatic experiences, and the symptoms they described corresponded to what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

NATIONAL PTSD AWARENESS DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	June 27	Tuesday
2024	June 27	Thursday
2025	June 27	Friday
2026	June 27	Saturday
2027	June 27	Sunday