60+ insightful PTSD quotes to encourage your healing journey
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that occurs in individuals who have experienced extreme danger. While survivors of traumatic events such as war, abuse, bullying, accidents, or natural disasters may receive heroic praise, they sometimes suffer from the effects of their experiences. Insightful PTSD quotes help uplift their spirits and assure them of recovery.
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People who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder often feel like they are in perpetual danger, even when the actual danger has passed. Recovery from the condition requires mastery of triggers from smells to sounds, sights or thoughts, a robust support system and a dedication to self-care.
PTSD quotes to encourage your healing journey
Relating with those who suffer from the condition requires a strong sense of care without judgment and criticism. Infuse your words with knowledge, empathy, and kindness with this selection of motivational quotes about trauma, PTSD awareness and recovery from the condition.
PTSD awareness quotes
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It is vital to understand the indicators and symptoms of the condition to ensure those affected seek help. Below are some PTSD quotes that shed light on the condition, its signs and symptoms.
- Although not all trauma leads to PTSD, PTSD is caused by trauma. – Abigail Makepeace
- PTSD occurs following a trauma that was so awful that, in retrospect, you do not understand how you survived. – Paul Goulston
- Unlike simple stress, trauma changes your view of your life and yourself. It shatters your most basic assumptions about yourself and your world. – Mark Goulston
- It is an invisible wound which you cannot see. It is damage done to the brain. It is an invisible enemy you can not fight.
- It is not a disease. It is not something that people are just going to snap and go crazy on you. – Chris Bova
- Your brain is not out to get you. It adapted the trauma response as a functional way to deal with real threats and dangers. – Emma McAdam
- When you have a present experience that matches stimuli from a past traumatic event, those memories get triggered, opened up and fired off. – Abigail Makepeace
- What happens with PTSD is that the narrative through which you see the world fractures, and your perceptions and your consequent emotional responses become chaotic. That chaos produces chronic stress response. – Jordan Peterson
- We call it the hidden wound. I like to refer to it as the silent scream because it is very much in that person. Most of us cannot see, hear or feel it. – Janet Seahorn
- I wish I did not remember. I remember the things I want to forget, and I cannot remember the things I want to remember. C-PTSD, You and I, co-dependent lovers. – Dee Williams
Short quotes about the experience of PTSD
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Isolation and loneliness often accompany those suffering from this mental health condition. Here is a compilation of quotes from various people who have suffered from PTSD and C-PTSD.
- I am a prisoner in my own mind.
- I was restless, lost interest in everything that I used to do, and could not feel comfortable in public.
- I had very little patience for people and not a lot of empathy.
- You do not really feel like you fit in anywhere you are in that limbo.
- Those overwhelming waves of emotion that you would do anything to get rid of just keep flowing. – Janet Seahorn
- My mind struggles against its own illusion, nightmare tumbles out into the still morning. – Re-collecting Mind
- Sometimes, you do not know why you are crying. It is just a heaviness that comes along. That you can never explain. – Ruth M Kemigisha
- In this flashback, my body remembers the past while I try to navigate this otherwise ordinary morning. – Miss Indie
- Healing takes time, and asking for help is a courageous step.
- They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried. – Tim O'Brien
Veteran quotes on PTSD
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According to Oxford Academic, professionals in high-risk careers, such as military veterans and first responders, are more likely to get PTSD. Have a look at post-traumatic stress disorder quotes from veterans.
- When people ask, and I tell them I’m a disabled veteran, I see their eyes gaze up and down. Not all wounds are visible; this one is the hardest to treat. I see my counsellors and talk to other vets, those who will understand. – Wesley Perkins
- Behold the ageing soldier; although his war has ended, he finds, much to his dismay, that the demons that now haunt him just do not seem to go away. – Randall W. West
- The remembrance of the vast desert, the lush-us green zone, etched painful memories into the soldier's daily life. – Alex Butler
- It is about trapped memories. We must search for the keys. The only way to rid this fear. Process the memory and shed a tear. – Gordon Alexander
- They say having depression is when everyone wants you to do something, and you want to do nothing. Anxiety is the direct opposite, where you are continually moving at 100 miles an hour. Having both is hell because your brain is constantly fighting itself. – Tim McDonough
- With all the bad that we have seen, we hope this is just a bad dream. Our memories will not disappear. – Gordon Alexander
- They teach you about dying in the military, but no one tells you how to live with the injuries. – Christine Schei
- Trauma destroys the fabric of time. In the traumatic universe, the basic laws of matter are suspended; ceiling fans can be helicopters, and car exhaust can be mustard gas. — David J. Morris
- Combat stress, PTSD, is debilitating. It can lie dormant and then erupt again at the most unfavourable of moments for the sufferer. – Sergeant Walker
- The victims of PTSD often feel trapped in a sort of spiritual solitary detention, looking at the rest of the world from beyond the barrier of what happened. They can not communicate their condition to those who remained home, resenting civilians for their blind innocence. – David Brooks
Quotes about PTSD in relationships
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PTSD bleeds onto every part of life because it affects normal function in everyday life, affecting relationships with family and friends. Below are quotes showing different acts of service that can aid in healing.
- You do not have to save me. You just have to hold my hand while I save myself.
- We do not heal in isolation but in the community. – S. Kelley Harrell
- When you are going through these difficult times of chaos and trauma, the most important thing is to keep those who are closest to you together. – Michael Imperioli
- To help these people, you must be strong. Sometimes it is tiring and the days are long. Be there for them when they call. To you, it may appear so small. – Gordon Alexander
- When we feel weak, we drop our heads on the shoulders of others. Don't get mad when someone does that. Be honored. For that person trusted you enough to, even if subtly, ask you for help. – Lori Goodwin
- When a person is living with PTSD, families begin to adapt to the individual and take on compensatory behaviours, which, over time, take a toll on the whole family. – Erin Fletcher
- When our warriors come home, there is no handbook. No one is there to help you understand what they have gone through. We have no way to relate to what they have experienced. It is like you, your loved one, and their PTSD are in your relationship. – Shea Hughes
- The ones closest to us are the easiest hurt (by PTSD) because they see and feel the pain, too. – Scott Hughes
- When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, upsetting, and scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know we are not alone. – Fred Rogers
- Trauma is personal. When it is ignored, the silent screams continue, heard only by the one held captive. When someone enters the pain and hears the screams, healing can begin. – Danielle Bernock
PTSD quotes to encourage healing
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Untreated trauma responses have the potential to destroy the lives of families of individuals suffering from PTSD. Like in many pursuits, healing is a journey that requires patience.
- You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. – Maya Angelou
- PTSD is nothing to be ashamed of, and it can happen to anybody, and you should get help.
- Bring the memory to mind and not enough to push you farther than you want to go, but as vividly as you can, you want to initiate a process of active engagement with the dragon that burned you fundamentally. – Jordan B Peterson
- There is no right way or wrong way to heal. – Dr. Kate Balestrieri
- It is not in the hope that we heal. It is in the doing that will help us move forward. – Janet Seahorn
- If we search for the big story behind why we feel and think the way we do, then we have the opportunity to define the big emotions. – Shauna Quigley
- I stood up, chose life, and willed the sky to greet me as a whole again. – Dee Williams
- The mask does not last forever. You would think after wearing it so often it would become you.
- Trauma resolved is a gift from the gods. – Peter A. Levine
- Change, like healing, takes time. – Veronica Roth
Inspirational quotes about PTSD
Your healing journey forces you to confront fears, experiences, and memories you would rather forget. Here are some words of encouragement for you.
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- Your trauma is valid, even if no one else knows what you've been through.
- You are indeed unbreakable. – Charles Hunt
- Stay strong and remain positive. You have deserved the right to live. – Gordon Alexander
- Survive, you will. And thrive. And love again. This I know to be true. – Jeanette LeBlanc
- Every adversity brings new experiences and new lessons. – Lailah Gifty Akita
- God gives us opportunities to grow and evolve. Sometimes, you can look back and see how your so-called sufferings brought you very far. – Mooji
- My pain has always deserved a voice, and I will not deny that, but I won't devote my life to it either. – Trista Mateer
- It takes enormous trust and courage to allow yourself to remember. – Bessel A. van der Kolk
- Challenges are part of life, but we strengthen our spirit when we fearlessly, with faith and hope, rise up to meet and conquer the challenges. – Lailah Gifty Akita
- You will encounter many challenges in life. But you must never be defeated by the challenges. – Lailah Gifty Akita
What is a famous quote about PTSD?
There are many famous PTSD quotes, but this quote by Michel Templet reminds us that challenges that afflict us do not reduce our worth. It states:
Always remember, if you have been diagnosed with PTSD, it is not a sign of weakness. Rather, a proof of your strength because you have survived!
What is a famous quote about trauma?
In her book Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence, American author Judith Lewis Herman notes the effects of trauma in a well-known quote. It states:
After a traumatic experience, the human system of self-preservation seems to go on permanent alert, as if the danger might return at any moment.
What do you say to someone with PTSD?
When speaking to someone with PTSD, offer your support and understanding. It is important to acknowledge their feelings and assure them that they do not have to face it alone.
PTSD quotes from individuals who have experienced it give insight into the need for empathy, kindness, and understanding. They also help other sufferers feel less alone and isolated as they seek healing.
Legit.ng has published an article with inspiring new beginnings quotes for hope and resilience on a new path. Reawakening and growth do not occur on a linear path.
Encourage yourself as you journey through life's challenges, taking every opportunity to grow and improve. Read on for a top selection of quotes on starting afresh.
Source: Legit.ng
