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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—or PTSD—is a psychiatric condition that impacts a large number of veterans, especially those who experienced combat. This disorder comes with a long list of potential symptoms that can impact your ability to maintain relationships, focus on tasks, or even get a restful night of sleep.
Understanding the way PTSD can impact your daily life is an important first step towards recovery. If you are a veteran, you might also be entitled to disability benefits that provide financial support as you work through these challenges. The VA disability attorneys of Gang & Associates can help you secure a PTSD VA rating and get the benefits you need.
PTSD Leads To Intrusive Thoughts or Memories
One of the common issues facing veterans with PTSD is intrusive thoughts. Returning to the trauma they experienced during their active duty is common. It can come in the form of flashbacks or nightmares, and it usually involves reexperiencing harrowing situations involving death or serious injury.
These thoughts can linger, making it difficult for you to focus or go about your daily routine. Some find themselves dealing with psychological stress because of their inability to escape past trauma. Counseling and treatment from a psychiatrist are important tools for dealing with these intrusive thoughts.
Some Veterans Choose Avoidance
It can be difficult for veterans to deal with symptoms of PTSD, especially those who were previously outgoing individuals. We get it, but avoidance can lead to avoiding things that are likely to trigger episodes, including contact with familiar people and places. For some veterans, this avoidance is an effort to prevent flashbacks or stress responses when they are reminded of their trauma. With others, it is more about not wanting friends or loved ones to see them in their current state. While having space to think and heal is important, avoiding contact with friends, family, or familiar places can often do more harm than good.
Many Veterans Struggle With Living Arrangements
The unfortunate reality with some veterans struggling with PTSD is that it can become difficult to find or keep adequate living arrangements. For these reasons, veterans face a higher rate of homelessness compared to the general population. Even loving, well-meaning friends and loved ones can reach a breaking point and no longer be able to live with the impacted veteran.
When PTSD goes untreated, it also frequently leads to dangerous behavior involving drugs or alcohol. This can also increase the risk of becoming unhoused or lead to conflict with family or roommates.
This Condition Alters Your Relationships With Others
One of the major ways PTSD can impact your day-to-day routine is by straining your relationships and making it difficult to interact with others socially. Many veterans diagnosed with PTSD find it challenging to express emotions, while others struggle with persistent irritability that can make social interactions even more difficult.
As these challenges make it more difficult to communicate, friction between friends and spouses can arise. In addition to becoming more withdrawn, friends might also opt to reach out less due to personality changes and potential for hostility. Even those closest to you can feel a sense of “compassion fatigue” that makes it difficult to deal with these ongoing emotional challenges.
Therapy is an important tool for rebuilding these relationships and improving communication. Couples therapy can be especially helpful, as it gives both parties the tools they need to deal with the reality of PTSD.
PTSD Can Negatively Impact Your Career
Furthering your career after your service is over can be difficult when you are living with PTSD. Often, the challenges that come with this condition will compound on each other to impact your job performance. This includes the fatigue that comes with sleep disruptions, difficulty concentration, and problems with organizing your thoughts. These issues can make it difficult to perform tasks at your place of employment, even aspects of your job you were once proficient at.
These issues are often magnified when it comes to stressful work environments. Difficulty with managing stress is commonplace among veterans with PTSD, which can make for a bad combination with high-pace work environments. There are also studies that veterans with PTSD face a higher rate of employment than the rest of the population.
Your Physical Health Can Deteriorate Due to PTSD
The psychological symptoms of this condition can be a challenge, but you may also experience deterioration in your physical health as well. This often comes in the form of sleep disruption. Many veterans dealing with intrusive thoughts find it difficult to sleep at night. This insomnia can make other symptoms of the condition worse, including feeling jumpy or on edge.
Fatigue is another side effect of both PTSD and insomnia. It can make it difficult to complete daily tasks or maintain your employment. Even eating or concentrating on simple tasks like cooking or cleaning can become a struggle. All of these challenges have the potential to increase a veteran’s frustration, leading them to lash out at others.
These physical consequences can make it impossible for you to work or maintain your personal relationships. If you are dealing with these health issues, you likely have a case for PTSD VA rating. Let the VA disability attorneys of Gang & Associates help you with your claim.
You Could Be Entitled to VA Benefits For Your PTSD
When you are living with the consequences of a PTSD diagnosis, it may be time to consider a VA benefits claim. These benefits could be life-changing, especially if you are unable to work due to your condition.
Unfortunately, many claims are initially denied by the VA. If you are dealing with a denial, the team of veteran disability attorneys at Gang & Associates is here to help. Contact us as soon as possible so that we can secure a PTSD VA rating on your behalf.