If you have a loved one who is living with PTSD, you know how the effects of this mental illness can be debilitating to your loved one’s life. And, you may wish to help them in any way in order to ease their burden. Fortunately, people can offer help for PTSD to their loved ones who may be living with the long-lasting impacts of experiencing trauma. Providing this help can be a great way to show that you support your loved one and even motivate them to get the professional help they need to establish healing and means to cope with the effects of PTSD in daily life.

Some ways that loved ones can help a person in their live who is living with PTSD may include:

Educate Yourself About PTSD

One of the best things you can do to help a loved one living with PTSD is to get an education on PTSD yourself. When you know more about PTSD, you are more aware of how this condition affects your loved one, triggers that can stimulate symptoms of PTSD, and options for treatment you may be to bring up with your loved one once they are open to getting help. Educating yourself about PTSD can also help you understand more about how you can be a support for your loved one living with this condition. This way, you can be a non-judgmental and encouraging champion for your loved one who can be in their corner no matter what.

Don’t Pressure Your Loved One to Open Up

If your loved one wants to talk about what they’re experiencing, they will. Pushing your loved one to open up can make them feel put on the spot or uncomfortable. If you want to help a loved one living with PTSD, you need them to trust you. This means being able to have them open up to you about their experiences without feeling pressured. So, remember, if they do want to open up to you, you should be there for them without hesitation or judgment. However, this should come naturally and not be forced at all – it should only be their decision to do so.

Practice Active Listening Without Judgment

If your loved one who is struggling with PTSD does choose to open up to you about their struggles with trauma and PTSD, it’s important that you approach these conversations a certain way. For one, it can be helpful to practice active listening. This means rather than providing insight into your own experiences or advice during a conversation about PTSD, you just listen. This can help your loved one to gain trust in you and can be essential if they ever come to you asking them to help you find professional assistance. Secondly, it’s also important to remember not to judge if your loved one opens up to you in conversation. If you judge your loved one about what they’re dealing with, they may choose not to open up to you again. And, this can hurt the trust they have for you, making it so that they don’t reach out to you again even if they are willing to seek help.

Provide Them With Options for Treatment

If your loved one ever suggests that they are willing to get professional help for PTSD, it’s helpful to be ready to offer them options for getting help. This may include using a trauma treatment program, like the one available through Yellowbrick. This program is an outpatient approach to treating PTSD for young, emerging adults.

Find out more about getting help for PTSD through our trauma recovery program at our facility located in Evanston, IL on our website today.