June 27 is recognized as National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day by the United States Marshals Service (USMS).
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says that PTSD affects 3.6% of the U.S. adult population.
NAMI Hall County’s Steering Chair, Lauren Joiner Paul, says the day serves to educate and destigmatize.
“It’s all about educating,” Paul said. “There are still individuals where this is new to them, they don’t know what it looks like so it gives individuals a chance to learn and then also to destigmatize.”
According to the National Center for PTSD, roughly 12 million Americans have PTSD in a given year, but only half with the disorder get diagnosed due to negative stereotypes.
PTSD is a mental health condition that occurs after a life-threatening event. The National Center for PTSD says if symptoms last longer than four weeks, causes great distress, or interferes with work or home life, you may have PTSD.
Paul, a licensed master social worker, says her experience with PTSD gives her the opportunity to help others who are diagnosed.
“Within NAMI, we believe that lived experience gives so much more, being able to connect with others,” Paul said.
According to Paul, NAMI offers support groups that allow people to not feel alone through mental health conditions.
Those support groups in Hall County include NAMI Connections Recovery Group, a peer-led support group for any adult who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. They also offer NAMI Family Support Group, for any adult with a loved one who has experienced a mental health condition.
They have also recently added a Spanish Family Support Group, Grupo de Apoyo para Familiares.
Those meeting times and locations can be found at https://namihall.org/calendar/.
