Reliving the event
Memories can return at any time through nightmares, flashbacks, or triggers such as news reports, accidents, sounds, or smells.
Mental Health
Knowledge, support, and practical ways forward.
Learn about mental health, common conditions, PTSD, and techniques that may help you cope with stress. Educational information does not replace professional care.
Recognize. Understand. Support.
Mental health awareness
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Ten things you can do for your mental health
Try these tips to keep your balance—or to help re-balance yourself.
- 01
Value yourself
Treat yourself with kindness and respect, and avoid self-criticism. Make time for hobbies and favorite projects, or broaden your horizons with a puzzle, gardening, dance, music, or a new language.
- 02
Take care of your body
Eat nutritious meals, avoid cigarettes, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get enough sleep. Physical care can improve mood and help decrease depression and anxiety.
- 03
Surround yourself with good people
Strong family and social connections support health. Make plans with supportive people or join a club, class, or support group where you can build new connections.
- 04
Give yourself
Volunteer your time and energy to help someone else. Doing something tangible for a person in need can feel rewarding and create opportunities to meet people.
- 05
Learn how to deal with stress
Practice coping skills such as one-minute stress strategies, tai chi, exercise, nature walks, time with a pet, journaling, smiling, and finding humor in life.
- 06
Quiet your mind
Try meditation, mindfulness, relaxation exercises, or prayer. These practices can improve your state of mind, support a healthier outlook, and enhance the effects of therapy.
- 07
Set realistic goals
Write down what you want to achieve academically, professionally, and personally. Aim high, remain realistic, avoid over-scheduling, and recognize your progress.
- 08
Break up the monotony
A small change of pace can refresh a tedious schedule. Try a different walking route, visit another park, plan a road trip, hang new pictures, or visit a new restaurant.
- 09
Avoid alcohol and other drugs
Keep alcohol use to a minimum and avoid other drugs. Using substances to self-medicate can aggravate the problems a person is trying to manage.
- 10
Get help when you need it
Seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Treatment is effective, and appropriate care can help people recover from mental illness and addiction and lead full, rewarding lives.
Adapted from the National Mental Health Association/National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Visit The National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Understanding mental illness
Mental health conditions
The terms “mental health conditions” and “mental illnesses” are used interchangeably here. A mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, behavior, or mood. These conditions can deeply affect day-to-day living and the ability to relate to others.
If you have—or think you might have—a mental illness, the first thing to know is that you are not alone. Mental health conditions are common, even though many people feel afraid or uncomfortable talking about them.
1 in 5U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 25U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
1 in 6U.S. youth ages 6–17 experience a mental health disorder each year
50% / 75%of lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 / age 24
A mental health condition is not the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, connected causes. Genetics, environment, lifestyle, stressful circumstances, traumatic experiences, biochemical processes, brain circuits, and brain structure may all play a role.
None of this means that you are broken or that you or your family did something wrong. Mental illness is no one’s fault. Recovery—including meaningful roles in social life, school, and work—is possible, especially when treatment begins early and a person plays an active role in recovery.
Conditions include
Anxiety DisordersADHDBipolar DisorderBorderline Personality DisorderDepressionDissociative DisordersEating DisordersObsessive-Compulsive DisordersPost-Traumatic Stress DisorderPsychosisSchizoaffective DisorderSchizophrenia
Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSD basics
PTSD is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.
It is normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge, or have trouble sleeping after trauma. Daily activities may be difficult at first, but most people begin to feel better after a few weeks or months. If symptoms continue for months, begin later, or come and go over time, a person may have PTSD.
Explore VA mental health resourcesWho develops PTSD?
Anyone can develop PTSD at any age. An intense or long-lasting event, injury during the event, combat, or sexual assault can increase the likelihood. Previous trauma, age, gender, stress after the event, and the amount of social support available may also affect risk.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may begin soon after an event or appear months or years later. If symptoms last longer than four weeks, cause great distress, or interfere with work or home life, talk with a qualified health care professional.
Avoiding reminders
A person may avoid crowds, driving, certain media, people, places, thoughts, or conversations connected to the traumatic event.
Negative changes in beliefs and feelings
Trauma may affect trust, relationships, positive feelings, memory, and a person’s view of safety in the world.
Feeling keyed up
Hyperarousal can include sleep problems, trouble concentrating, being easily startled, irritability, anger, and remaining constantly alert for danger.
PTSD symptoms in children
- Children under 6 may become upset when parents are not nearby, have trouble sleeping, or act out the trauma through play.
- Children ages 7–11 may express trauma through play, drawings, stories, or nightmares; become irritable or aggressive; avoid school; or have problems with schoolwork or friends.
- Young people ages 12–18 may show symptoms more like adults, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal, reckless behavior, substance use, or running away.
Can people with PTSD get better?
Yes. “Getting better” means different things to different people, but effective treatment can eliminate symptoms for some and make symptoms less frequent or intense for others. Seek care if symptoms last more than a few months, are very upsetting, or disrupt daily life.
Treatment options
The two main forms of treatment are psychotherapy—also called counseling or talk therapy—and medication. Some people use both.
Trauma-focused psychotherapy
Treatment focuses on the memory of the traumatic event or its meaning. Evidence-based options include Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Medication
Medication can also be effective. Certain SSRIs and SNRIs used for depression may help PTSD, including sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, and venlafaxine. A qualified clinician can discuss benefits, risks, and individual needs.
Managing daily stress
Four techniques to help you de-stress
Stress is common. Gallup’s 2024 global findings showed worry and stress at the top of five negative emotions adults experienced during much of the previous day. Although these measures have eased from pandemic highs, many remain higher than a decade ago.
A little anxiety can help us perform, but stress consumes the physical and mental energy needed to manage the day, focus on what matters, think clearly, and make sound decisions. One path toward relief is shifting from an energy-consuming state to an energy-enhancing one.
Clear the slate
Use physical activity to shift from an energy-consuming state to an energy-building one. A walk, yoga, dance, tai chi, jogging, swimming, gardening, or another activity you enjoy can loosen stress’s grip. Focus on posture, breath, pace, or calming details in your surroundings. Consult your physician before beginning a new exercise plan.
Empty mind
Empty mind, or mushin, is a practice of releasing preset thoughts, feelings, and action patterns so you can respond more fluidly. It takes practice, but even a brief pause from rumination can help reset your mental state.
Beginner’s mind
Approach a task with curiosity, openness, and as few assumptions as possible. Beginner’s mind is alert and relaxed—a high-definition presence that lets you see new choices instead of automatically repeating a stressful pattern.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It can help you notice useful details, disengage from distractions, and regulate your response to daily stressors.
A quarter turn can matter.
These skills can soften daily stressors, balance mental and physical energy, and create space to replace an automatic negative response with a healthier one. We cannot stop all stress from entering our lives, but we can reconsider our response to it.
Coping material adapted from Psychology Today.