Things You Should Not Say To Someone With PTSD

Someone who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) deals with an exhausting reality when living on edge and in a hypervigilant state. Triggers like bright lights, crowds, or loud noises can all set off awful flashbacks and cause debilitating symptoms. Over time, exhaustion from constant anxiety may cause someone with PTSD to shut down and self-isolate because they feel nobody really understands what they deal with.

If there is someone you love or care about with PTSD, you can lessen the stress and anxiety they feel by paying attention to their body language, what they share, and being mindful of the things you say to them. This article will discuss some of the things that you shouldn’t say to someone with PTSD. 

“You’ll Get Over It” or “Shouldn’t You Be Over It by Now?”

There is no specific amount of time it takes for someone to recover from a traumatic event. Sometimes trauma does not resurface or trigger a flashback until months, even years later. Regardless of what a person is going through, trivializing the seriousness of their condition can make someone feel as though they’re too weak to deal with their PTSD.

Reflect and try to think of the perspective of your loved one, and know that their pain feels unsolvable, so hearing that the pain they experience daily is nothing and they should be over it can be detrimental to their healing. There are treatments for PTSD, like anti-depressants, but things take time to heal, and handling triggers may be a lifelong challenge.