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Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly becoming societal problems, as they contribute to polarization and affect our physical health. Mental health professionals, community advocates and health-care providers have been raising the alarm about this impending crisis.

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.

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.

It is important to understand that no two people experience such horrific exposure in the same way. The extent of the trauma, stress or fear can vary. Survivors of a shooting may want to avoid the neighborhood where the shooting occurred or the context related to shooting, such as grocery stores, if the shooting happened at one. In the worst case, a survivor may develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

“When I meet people, post-injury who may be stuck in a dark place, who may think their lives are destroyed, I say it’s going to be hard to picture the future but start by dipping your toes into the waters of adaptive sports in a group setting. The sooner you get involved, the better. You don’t have a clue what you will accomplish in life.”

Our Miiltary Kids recognizes children for being brave despite their parent’s deployment and all the challenges — large and small — that can come with a parent’s recovery from combat injuries.

Exposure to videos of disasters can trigger post-traumatic stress symptoms in some children.

For accountants, it’s tax time; for teachers, it’s September. And for therapists, the busiest time of year is the holidays. Every therapist knows that the winter holiday season is rife with pain, angst and grief.

Prepared by BrainLine and BrainLine's online community, here is a list of useful and insightful books about PTSD, living with it, and healing from it.

PTSD can make somebody hard to be with. Living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and often avoids social situations can take a toll on the most caring family. Early research on PTSD has shown the harmful impact of PTSD on families.

The events taking place in the news may be triggering to many in our BrainLine community. If you need to talk, you are not alone. There are resources available now. Please reach out to these crisis lines.

Disasters affect people who experience and respond to the event. Natural and technological disasters impact survivors, bereaved family members, witnesses to the event, and friends of those involved.