Over the years, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has gained much media coverage and greater social awareness. The condition and affects have even been documented on some of our favourite small screen dramas – most recently a character in Emmerdale suffered PTSD after a serious car accident.

It’s estimated around 1 in 10 people will develop PTSD at some point in their life with a vast number of causes now clinically recognised. Often as a result of a traumatic life event, such as road traffic accidents, Military combat and service or bereavement, symptoms including fear, helplessness or horror are common.

Dr Samantha Sadler, Deputy Clinical Lead for TalkingSpace Plus, recently interviewed on the subject for local radio. “It is a positive step that PTSD is being spoken about more in the popular media; it is a set of issues that anyone might develop after experiencing a trauma; it isn’t limited to Soldiers or emergency service personnel as has been portrayed historically.”

“The symptoms of PTSD are very upsetting and it is really important that people know there is treatment is available in the NHS for free and that there are professionals ready to assist you.”

Traumatic events can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time. If you have had a traumatic experience, you may not realise the extent of your trauma until months, even years after the event and it may develop into post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD.

PTSD is essentially a ‘memory error’ caused by a traumatic event which interferes with your ability to process the event in terms of your thoughts and emotions: when you experience something traumatic your body can suspend ‘normal operations’ and so temporarily shuts down some bodily functions such as digestion, skin repair and crucially: memory processing.

If you have been affected by any type of traumatic event, either recently or some time ago, TalkingSpace Plus can help. The service has treated more than 100,000 patients in the region, supporting people with a range of mental health issues – ensuring they are able to lead the lives they want to lead.

Call 01865 901 222 to self refer. Our telephone opening hours are: Monday 8am-5pm, Tuesday to Thursday 8am-8pm or Friday 8am-5pm.

Visit our website for more details, where you can also easily self refer from the homepage.