Shock Waves: A Practical Guide to Living with a Loved One's PTSD

by Cynthia Orange

A user-friendly guide to helping a loved one with post-traumatic stress disorder--while taking care of yourself.

In the United States, about 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women experience, witness, or are affected by a traumatic event in their lifetimes. Many of them (8 percent of men and 20 percent of women) may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)--a life-altering anxiety disorder. Once connected mainly with veterans of war, PTSD is now being diagnosed in many situations that cause extreme trauma such as rape, physical attacks or abuse, accidents, terrorist incidents, or natural disasters. The millions of family members of those who have PTSD also suffer, not knowing how to help their loved one recover from the pain.Shock Waves is a practical, user-friendly guide for those who love someone suffering from this often debilitating anxiety disorder, whether that person is a survivor of war or of another harrowing situation or event. Through her own experience, extensive research, advice from mental health professionals, and interviews with those working through PTSD and their families, Cynthia Orange shows readers how to identify what PTSD symptoms look like in real life, respond to substance abuse and other co-occurring disorders, manage their reactions to a loved one's violence and rage, find effective professional help, and prevent their children from experiencing secondary trauma.Each section of Shock Waves includes questions and exercises to help readers incorporate the book's lessons into their daily lives and interactions with their traumatized loved ones

Genres: Psychology

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[KJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted this to be more useful than it was. Unfortunately, many real-life examples the author chose to include fell into a weird quagmire of "abuse, but excused because of the abuser's PTSD" that pushed me out of the book and unconvinced it would have good advice. If he screams and throws things at you, maybe you can leave his ass, instead of "learning to be more patient" with "the stress he's under."

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some good ideas and great quotes. It emphasized that PTSD is a journey, a lifelong journey. I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but don't care to share most of them. So there! I'm glad I read it.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good place to start if you need to know what it's like to care for someone with PTSD. There were some good reminders for me, and I am looking forward to reading some of the resources listed in the back.

[Monika Schrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for families and friends to assist their loved ones and themselves to navigate the trauma that caused their PTSD no matter what type of trauma occurred.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my style but very informative all the same