When someone goes through a traumatic experience, they often find it difficult to reach out to others for support. This leaves their loved ones wondering how to help someone with PTSD.
Montare Tucson provides the structured, multi-disciplinary treatment it takes for someone with PTSD to resolve their past and enjoy improved mental health. We take into account the symptoms the person experiences and their treatment goals. Then, we formulate a detailed plan to help them learn to live with less anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and other symptoms. Our residential program feels homelike and private. This allows the individual to relax and work on healing their mental health with the guidance of experts.
Anyone who cares about someone with post-traumatic stress disorder wants to help give them relief from their symptoms and hope for the future. To make this easier, we’ve put together a list of 10 ways to help someone with PTSD.
People with PTSD often isolate from others. Offer to drop by for a short visit or invite them out for a meal. Additionally, you can also suggest other social outings like going to see a movie or shopping.
Let your loved one know you are always available to talk, text, or meet up in person. Sometimes just knowing someone cares helps provide comfort and makes them more willing to reach out to you.
Sometimes people with PTSD just want to talk about how they feel and their fears. Let them know you will listen anytime they want. In each conversation, ask if they want suggestions for how to handle difficult emotions or situations or if they just need to vent and feel heard.
People with PTSD often feel overwhelmed by the idea of looking for help. Offer to investigate and give them an array of options for outpatient and residential care. Sometimes just having a contact number for a facility or therapy program readily available makes it easier to reach out for help.
People with poor mental health often lack the energy or enthusiasm to take care of daily chores. Offer to help clean up their home, make a grocery store run, take their pet to the vet, mow their yard, and do other simple tasks.
Let your loved one with PTSD know you believe they have suffered in the past and continue to feel discombobulated. Validate their feelings and fears and tell them that mental health professionals will recognize their symptoms and offer effective treatment.
Too often, people with PTSD find that their family members and friends don’t truly understand what they go through. Volunteer to speak to the individual’s loved ones to help explain the nature of PTSD and how they can best support them.
As much as it’s important to support a person with PTSD, sometimes it reaches a point where the individual relies too much on temporary help. This support often comes from their loved ones. As a result, they do not seek the professional programs they need. Use boundaries by stating kindly but firmly that you can only offer so much support before it becomes co-dependent. Ultimately, the only option that will truly help them heal PTSD is getting into therapy.
If someone with PTSD becomes suicidal or expresses other serious emotions and actions, step back and let professionals trained to treat mental illnesses step in. This includes calling 911, contacting loved ones, and using other emergency services to help the person get the focused care they need.
Supporting someone with PTSD can be time-consuming and emotional. Remember that you can only provide so much help, and the rest has to come from treatment programs.
Even when someone knows how to help a person with PTSD, there comes a time when their assistance is not enough. At this stage, the person they care about needs to enter professional treatment to address their mental illness and learn healthy ways to cope.
Signs to look out for include if the person’s symptoms worsen. As well, someone with PTSD who isolates themselves and feels reluctant to visit with or speak to friends and family needs help. Another sign it’s time to get professional help quickly is if the person begins to abuse drugs or alcohol or escalates their use of substances. Finally, if their loved ones suspect the individual may be suicidal, it’s time to take immediate action.
People with PTSD typically respond well to types of therapy modalities that address their traumatic experiences. In particular, these therapies help the person resolve them. Moreover, learning to reframe how they think and react allows them to discover their power. As a result, this helps them keep overwhelming symptoms like flashbacks, anxiety, and depression from ruling their lives.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) has a high rate of helping people minimize or completely heal their PTSD. In fact, studies show that those who attended three to eight 90-minute EMDR therapy sessions showed a remission rate of 77% to 90%.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people learn that how they feel and think influences their behaviors. Additionally, it also teaches them that they have control over all three. Similarly, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) puts a person with PTSD back in control by teaching them mindfulness and emotion regulation. Furthermore, it also focuses on distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Do you want to know how to help someone with PTSD but don’t know where to look for effective care provided by mental health experts? Montare Tucson created a residential program that takes a person who feels broken by PTSD. It helps put them back together. Our evidence-based programs teach people how to process traumatic events and disarm the power they have over them. With our help, people with PTSD feel whole again and rejoin life with renewed hope.
Contact us today to find out how to help someone with PTSD by helping them enroll in a program designed to meet their specific needs. After all, we are in the business of helping people heal their mental illnesses and look at life from a new point of view.
Published: 3/12/2025
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