> And if you have PTSD, it's a good idea to let your co-workers and friends know now, otherwise, they'll continue doing things that cause problems for you. You'

> And if you have PTSD, it's a good idea to let your co-workers and friends know now, otherwise, they'll continue doing things that cause problems for you. You'll find that most people are very helpful, some even understand it just like you do, but have never said anything about it. I don't have PTSD (thankfully), but I went to a school with a large milvet population, and a number of my friends & classmates had varying levels of PTSD. Two of my close friends have PTSD from (separate) traumatic events that occurred during the time I knew them[0], and I've seen the struggles that they have to this day as a result. Unfortunately, not only is there a huge stigma around mental illness in general, but PTSD is very often misunderstood. And many people with PTSD have been in the position where they have trusted friends or coworkers with that information, for the exact reasons you describe, and it has come around to bite them[1]. Since PTSD is oftentimes triggered by environmental factors, this only reinforces the learning cycle, and actually worsens the PTSD. It creates a terrible cycle, where they have legitimate reasons not to want to seek support from their environment (they have real reason to distrust it), but where they can't function without the support of their environment as well. [0] ie, after we were already friends; I wasn't present at the traumatic events themselves. [1] e.g., a friend lets this information slip to someone that the original person didn't trust, or a coworker uses that information to trigger them intentionally as a "joke" (yes, this happens).