It is not a disease!!!

So recently after my Second Life video came out about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) someone told me: "Oh you have that disease." I was really appalled to that because I do not have a disease. That made it sound like I am contagious of some bad virus like the C19. Sad that some people are so ignorant and do not search for answers if they really don't know what something is.
Let me clarify a few things.

1. We are not weak. Suffering from PTSD as a result of trauma is not a mental weakness or moral failure. Rather, it is a result of some traumatic thing that happened to us. The fact that some people develop PTSD after a traumatic event, and some people don't, really has no correlation to the person's physical, mental, or emotional strength. Got that? Alrighty...it is not a disease!!!!!

2. We are not all combat veterans. PTSD can be caused by any type of trauma, not just the horrors of war. Physical, sexual, emotional, or any other kind of abuse, can cause it as well as things like car accidents, natural disasters, and illnesses.PTSD is hard to understand even when you have it. Learn some of the facts that PTSD sufferers would like for you to know about the disorder. It is not a disease!!!

3. We did not ask for the trauma that caused our PTSD. Someone suffering from PTSD is not to blame for having the disorder. We were victims of trauma who developed the disorder as a result. The trauma wasn't our fault, and having PTSD isn't our fault either. And if you do not want to be my friend because you are afraid you might catch it, go and leave now...

4. We cannot just "get over it." PTSD has physical symptoms; it affects our bodies, not just our minds. Telling someone with PTSD to "get over it" is like telling someone with epilepsy to "get over" having seizures. It doesn't work. Or telling a cancer person ok you had enough cancer now so stop it.

5. We want you around, even when we don't act like it. Sometimes we want to isolate and withdraw from daily life. That doesn't always mean that we want to be alone, though. We may feel comforted by just being in the same room with you, even if there is no interaction.

6. Management of  PTSD is possible, but it doesn't always feel that way to us. Having support from you and seeing that you believe we can recover is the best thing you can do for us.

There you have it. Now for those of you who are friends and think you know, you don't. One thing is for sure you can either stick around and support me or cut the strings. I hate silent treatments and sayings like "I better let you deal with this alone" or "I talk to you when you are over this meltdown."  Even a cancer person does not need someone who cannot support them. And no you cannot catch this because PTSD is NOT a disease.