If you have a friend, relative, or significant other who’s living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it’s important to know how severely this mental health issue can affect their daily life. Whether you see them daily or meet up with them once a week, you can still be an irreplaceable source of support and comfort. Alongside their PTSD treatment, use these tips to be a beacon of light in this person’s life.

 3 Ways to Support a Loved One With PTSD

1. Do Your Best to Educate Yourself

While your loved one’s PTSD treatment and counseling sessions are a personal journey, you can still do your part to learn about what they might be experiencing. Head to the official site for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, or ask your friend’s counselor for a book recommendation. The more you learn about the symptoms of this disorder, the closer you’ll become to your loved one, and the easier it will be to understand when they need comfort and when they need space. 

2. Help Them Establish a Routine

When dealing with this high-intensity stress, your loved one may find it hard to make time for activities they enjoy. In some cases, these activities could help them establish a sense of safety and consistency. Whether you sign up for a yoga class, watch a comedy together, or accompany them to the grocery store every weekend, these activities let your loved one can relax and have fun in the company of someone they trust.

3. Identify Their Triggers

As you spend time with your friend, keep an eye out for instances where they seem to shut down, get anxious, or show any other signs of remembering their traumatic experience. Without pressuring them for answers, try to figure out what might have spurred this psychological shift. Whether it was a sound, a person, a place, or even a type of food, you can begin to identify their trigger. While your actions aren’t a substitute for their PTSD treatment, you can do your best to keep them from coming into contact with these triggers.

If you’re trying to help a friend or loved one with this disorder, you don’t have to go it alone. Along with their existing treatment and counseling, they can find help from the Ketamine Center of Connecticut. Located in Milford, CT, this mental health center uses ketamine as a supplementary treatment for a variety of mental illnesses, as well as chronic pain. To learn more about this process, visit their website, or call (203) 701-6388 to schedule an appointment.