Definition: Traumatic Recovery

9/11. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The epic tsunami/earthquake in Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004. Hurricane Katrina. The Virginia Tech Massacre. There have quite a few catastrophic events over the past several years.

However, some people need not have lived through these headline-fodder atrocities to experience the almost deadly effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rape victims, domestic violence victims, child molestation victims, or bitter divorced couples may also fail to just "get over it."

According to the American Psychiatric Association, 10 percent of the entire U.S. population has been diagnosed with a chronic form of post-traumatic stress. Some of the wide-ranging symptoms of PTSD, which normally don't peak until at least a month after an emotionally distressing or overwhelming event occurs, are disturbing sense of memory and an acute emotional detachment from loved or cherished ones.

Although PTSD affects veterans first and foremost, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) currently reported that anxiety-ridden civilians are also directly impacted. Intrusive "flashbacks," or recurring nightmares, can take place during sleep as well as during daytime. An exaggerated startle response causes them to feel a constant sense of grave danger in public, even if the environment surrounding them isn't exactly a Middle Eastern war zone. Additionally, their explosive biochemical imbalances may automatically trigger persistent thoughts of suicide for no apparent reason.

However, being afflicted with PTSD doesn't have to be all that life-shattering.

They are not clinically proven to "cure" PTSD in any shape or form, but the National Institute of Mental Health has recently suggested that patients should continue to take prescribed drugs, such as Paxil and Zoloft, to improve their overarching social capabilities through psychotherapy, peer counseling consultations, or other effective forms of talk therapy.

You can also book an appointment with a one-on-one behavioral health care provider who specializes in relaxation techniques if you happen to get completely out of control with your already fragile state of mind.

There may still be a great social stigma attached to this unnerving illness. Yet, it really never hurts to let your feelings out if your life reaches an all-too-uncontrollable psychological or emotional breaking point.

Once you finally get your act together, you may not exactly be "cured," but you might as well feel better than you did before.