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What We Know and Don’t Know About Neurological Symptoms from Long COVID Like Brain Fog and Fatigue

Graphic text: What do you know about Covid-19?

“Long COVID is an umbrella term for the many post-acute consequences that result from COVID-19. The more we learn, the more we see that COVID-19 can affect nearly every organ in the body — from the heart and brain to the lungs, kidneys, skin, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We are still learning, but we need to listen to our patients, validate their experiences, and treat their symptoms.”

What People Should Know About Pregnancy-Loss and PTSD: One Woman’s Story About Losing Her Son at 16 Weeks and Almost Losing Her Own Life on the Same Day

Jack Jones’s urn and memorial with prints of his left foot and left hand

“During pregnancy, a mother celebrates the journey with family and friends — think baby names, baby showers, nurseries, tiny clothes … smiles from strangers and proud hands on an ever-expanding belly. The journey of being pregnant is both personal and public. So, what should be one of the most magical experiences shared with family, friends, and colleagues becomes one of private emotional and physical trauma in a closed room, an experience that is then often not acknowledged nor spoken about. The mother returns home still looking pregnant, her hormones still acting as if she is pregnant, but her arms and heart are empty.”

PTSD Service Dog Improve Veteran Quality of Life

A veteran's hand holds the paw of a service dog

Meta-analysis (9 articles) revealed that partnership with an assistance dog had a clinically meaningful, significant, and large effect on PTSD severity scores. Increasingly prevalent research on assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD provides support for the impact of this complementary and integrative health intervention on PTSD symptom severity, and signs of meaningful improvements in adjacent domains including mental and social health.

Suicide Is Not a Bad Word … Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Suicidal Ideation

A yard sign reading "Your Life Matters" with a teal and purple Suicide Prevention ribbon

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. If you are military-connected then you know the 22-veterans-a-day average. You’ve seen the blue ribbons plastered everywhere on base/post. If you are a veteran or caregiver, you’ve seen similar posters at the VA. You’ve probably gone to an annual suicide prevention training or two. You know the signs, you know what to look for and what to do if you are worried about someone’s safety. But nothing can truly prepare you for when it happens.

Secondary PTSD (or Secondary Traumatic Stress) Should Not Be Underestimated

Young doctor looks stressed, holds her head leaning on a window in a hospital

Trauma can be a strange and often insidious beast. We can be traumatized by directly being impacted by an event like a violent physical attack, a rape, a natural disaster, or an experience in combat, but we can also be traumatized indirectly by caring for, hearing about, or witnessing the intense suffering of others. Both the direct and indirect impact of traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA

Service dog in a vest walking in front of amputees and those in wheelchairs

Many people with disabilities use a service animal in order to fully participate in everyday life. Dogs can be trained to perform many important tasks to assist people with disabilities, such as providing stability for a person who has difficulty walking, picking up items for a person who uses a wheelchair, preventing a child with autism from wandering away, or alerting a person who has hearing loss when someone is approaching from behind.

Hurting Physically from Emotional Pain

Illustration of a woman with a pained expression rubs her neck

The more I start to recognize what I am feeling — both physically and emotionally — the more I can speak up for myself, and advocate for what I need. It is not easy, and not something that everyone wants to hear, but I need to care for myself, too.

The Healing Power of Gaming and Streaming for Veterans with PTSD and/or MST

Veterans Gaming and Mental Health Logo with a keyboard, controller, Humvee, helmet, jet, and heart

“Open therapeutic discussion works. It’s like you’re in the woods, it’s pitch-black, there are noises and shadows … and it’s just you, alone, with your one beam of flashlight light bouncing around as you turn this way and that, fight or flight. It’s terrifying. It’s a lot less scary if you’ve got 20 buddies at your side, 20 flashlights that can easily illuminate the forest for what it is, yes, noises and shadows, but once revealed, not so frightening at all. So, all this listening, talking, and sharing made possible by gaming and streaming worked for me and there are a lot of people out there struggling in similar ways who can similarly heal."

What Makes Complex PTSD Different from “Typical” PTSD and How to Begin the Healing Process

Unhappy young woman sits outside with a confusing array of reflections and lights over her

Typical PTSD, a formal diagnosis in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), is defined as a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experienced or witnessed — such as a car crash, an earthquake, or a sexual assault. Complex PTSD, on the other hand, includes all the facets of a primary diagnosis of PTSD but is related to a series of traumatic events over time or one prolonged event. CPTSD is not yet a formal diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR.