Thank You for Showing Up - Reflections on PTSD Awareness Month
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Thank You for Showing Up - Reflections on PTSD Awareness Month
Every June, PTSD Awareness Month gives us space to shine a light on the invisible wounds so many live with every day. It’s a time to educate, advocate, and-most importantly-hold space for healing. But at the heart of this month is something deeply human: showing up. For yourself. For others. For the truth of what it means to live with trauma.
If you’ve taken time this month to learn, speak out, support someone, or simply breathe through a difficult day-thank you. That act, no matter how small it may seem, is powerful.
The Power of Presence
PTSD often hides in plain sight. It shows up in quiet moments of avoidance, hypervigilance, sleepless nights, and flashbacks that steal time. It doesn’t always announce itself. That’s why showing up-for yourself or someone else-is a radical act of compassion.
You might be the one wearing the smile that hides the pain. Or the friend who checks in. Or the advocate who keeps speaking out even when it’s hard. Whatever your role, your presence matters. Every conversation, every shared resource, every gesture of understanding chips away at stigma and isolation.
This Month-and Every Month
PTSD doesn’t follow a calendar. Awareness month might be coming to a close, but the need for support continues. Survivors still wake up every day navigating memories they didn’t choose. So while June is a focused moment, our care and compassion must stretch across the entire year.
Let this month be a reminder that small acts-listening, learning, validating, and simply being there-make a difference.
To Those Living with PTSD: We See You
To the survivors who are still standing, even if just barely: we see you. We honor the strength it takes to face each day. You are not defined by your trauma, and you are not alone. Healing is not linear, and there is no right timeline-but there is always hope.
Carry It Forward
As PTSD Awareness Month ends, let’s not let the conversation fade. Keep sharing. Keep learning. Keep showing up.
Because sometimes, the bravest thing a person can do is simply keep going. And when someone shows up-even silently-it echoes.
Thank you for showing up. For yourself. For others. For healing.