Managing PTSD symptoms can seem overwhelming for those who’ve experienced military trauma, but recovery is possible.
Today let’s talk about the symptoms you may be dealing with, and how to overcome them with strategies that really work.
I still remember a former client who was a Marine, sitting across from me during my time at the VA. His hands trembled slightly as he described how he'd slept on his living room floor for the past three years. "Can't do beds anymore, Doc," he explained. "Too soft. Too exposed." Each night, he'd position himself in the corner where he could see both the front door and the hallway leading to his kids' rooms.
This is what PTSD looks like in real life. Not just a list of clinical symptoms in a textbook, but a man who can’t sleep in his own bed because his brain is still protecting him from dangers that ended years ago.
I'm Dr. Reginald K. Riggins, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Texas. For over a decade, I've worked with people struggling with PTSD – especially our veterans dealing with military trauma. Over the years I've seen patients through my work at the Department of Veteran Affairs and now in my telehealth practice. I've sat with hundreds of individuals as they've shared their stories of trauma and, more importantly, their journeys toward healing. Today, I want to talk honestly about PTSD symptoms – what they actually look like in everyday life, how they impact people (especially our veterans), and the approaches I've seen work for managing PTSD symptoms effectively.
When most people think about PTSD, they picture flashbacks or nightmares. Those are certainly part of it, but the reality is much more complex and touches every aspect of a person’s life.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can develop after experiencing or witnessing something terrifying – combat, sexual assault, a serious accident, natural disaster, or other life-threatening events. But not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. For those who do, symptoms typically start within three months of the traumatic incident, though sometimes they don’t appear until years later.
For our military community, the numbers tell a troubling story. Between 11-20% of veterans from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have experienced PTSD in a given year. But behind every statistic is a human being trying to rebuild their life.
In my clinical work, I've found it helpful to think about PTSD symptoms in four categories. Let me break them down the way I would if you were in a session with me.
“It’s like the worst movie of your life playing on repeat, and you can’t find the off switch.”
That’s how Maria, a former Army medic, described her flashbacks to me. Intrusion symptoms force you to re-experience the trauma when you least expect it:
I worked with a veteran who would have panic attacks whenever he smelled diesel fuel because it instantly transported him back to the day his convoy was hit by an IED. His heart would race, he’d start sweating, and he’d feel the same terror he experienced during the attack – all triggered by a smell most people barely notice.
When ordinary things become linked to traumatic memories, avoiding them seems like the only option.
This might look like:
One of my clients, a veteran who’d experienced heavy combat, hadn’t gone to a movie theater in eight years. The dark room, crowded space, and loud sounds created too perfect a storm of triggers. Another avoided all news and war movies – anything that might show images resembling what he’d experienced.
This avoidance might work in the short term, but it comes at a heavy price – isolation from loved ones, missed opportunities, and a world that grows smaller with each passing year.
“I came back, but the person I was died over there.”
I’ve heard variations of this statement from countless veterans. PTSD doesn’t just change how you react to external triggers – it can transform your entire outlook on life:
A firefighter I worked with after a particularly tragic call couldn’t shake his belief that he should have saved more people, despite having already done everything humanly possible.
This belief poisoned his relationships, his work, and his sense of self until we were able to process it in therapy.
Imagine your body’s alarm system cranked up to maximum volume, 24/7. That’s hyperarousal.
A veteran I counseled described it as “living life through a sniper scope” – focused on potential threats with no peripheral vision for life’s joys or possibilities. Another compared it to having a smoke detector that goes off when you cook toast, take a hot shower, or light a candle – unable to distinguish between real danger and false alarms.
In my years at the VA and in private practice, I've noticed that military trauma often creates unique challenges compared to civilian PTSD. For starters, military personnel frequently experience multiple traumatic events over extended deployments rather than a single incident. This repeated exposure can compound the impact and complicate recovery.
Military trauma can involve experiences that have no civilian equivalent:
The very qualities that make someone an excellent service member – stoicism, putting the mission first, never leaving anyone behind – can become barriers to seeking help. Many veterans tell me they delayed treatment because they didn’t want to appear weak, burden others with their problems, or take up resources someone else might need more.
As one veteran put it: “In the military, they train the weakness out of you. So admitting you’re struggling feels like you’ve failed at being who they trained you to be.”
If you’re reading this and recognizing these symptoms in yourself or someone you love, I want you to know something crucial:
PTSD is treatable. I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations in my practice – people who came in believing they were permanently broken but now lead full, meaningful lives.
Here’s what actually works for managing PTSD symptoms, based on both clinical research and my experience treating hundreds of trauma survivors:
Evidence-Based Psychotherapy: The Gold Standard
As a trained trauma specialist, I use several proven approaches:
Healing happens both in therapy sessions and in your day-to-day life.
These strategies can help manage symptoms between sessions:
As a telehealth therapist, I've seen how virtual therapy has transformed access to care for people with PTSD. For many of my clients, traditional in-person therapy presented significant obstacles. Take James, a veteran with severe hypervigilance who found driving to appointments nearly impossible due to panic attacks at traffic lights. Or Sarah, a single mom dealing with trauma who couldn't find childcare during traditional office hours. Telehealth removed these barriers completely.
The benefits of telehealth for PTSD treatment include:
As a Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) provider, I’m authorized to provide telepsychology services across multiple states. This means that regardless of where you’re located, you can access specialized PTSD treatment without geographic limitations.
Most importantly, research confirms what I’ve observed in my practice: telehealth delivery of evidence-based PTSD treatments works just as well as in-person care for most people.
I was raised by a single mother on the south side of Chicago in the Englewood community. From an early age, I wanted to make a difference through mental health services. This background shapes my approach today. When you work with me, you'll find I take a straightforward, practical approach to trauma and managing PTSD symptoms. I believe in honest dialogue, clear explanations, and concrete skills you can use in daily life. You won't hear a lot of psychobabble or get lost in abstract theories.
My philosophy centers on three core goals:
Treatment isn’t just about ending the behaviors that interfere with your life and your peace, but about implementing new practices that benefit you and help you work through triggers. These evidence based therapies will work not only to reduce your symptoms, but also to reconnect you with sources of meaning, purpose, and joy.
Overcoming trauma you sustained while serving in the military isn't about erasing the past or pretending you weren't affected by what happened to you. It's about processing the experience with a new perspective that allows you to move forward without the symptoms that can interfere with your life. A veteran I worked with some years ago described his healing journey like this: "Before therapy, my trauma was like a boulder blocking the road of my life. I couldn't go around it, couldn't climb over it. Now, that boulder is still there – I haven't forgotten what happened – but it's moved to the side of the road. I acknowledge it when I pass by, but it no longer prevents me from moving forward."
This journey typically includes:
Throughout this process, it’s important to remember that healing isn’t a straight line or a series of checking off boxes until you complete all of the tasks on a list. You’ll have good days and days that are more difficult. You’ll take two steps forward, and then an occasional step back. It is what it is, and setbacks, are par for the course. When it seems like you’re losing ground for a time, don’t stress, because it doesn’t mean treatment isn’t working. This is just the way that the mind sorts out and makes sense of the traumatic events you’ve experienced.
If you’re struggling to manage your PTSD symptoms or have a loved one who is, I want you to know that effective help is available, and more affordable and convenient than it ever has been.
The telehealth revolution has made it possible to connect with specialized care regardless of your location.
Living with untreated PTSD can feel like being trapped in the worst moments of your life. But with the right support and evidence-based treatment, you can learn to manage these symptoms and build a future not defined by what happened to you, but by your courage, resilience, and capacity for growth.
I’ve walked alongside hundreds of trauma survivors on their healing journeys, and I’d be honored to walk with you too. Together, we can work through the challenges of PTSD and help you reclaim the life you deserve.
I tell my clients all the time: reaching out for help isn’t a sign of weakness – it’s a sign of tremendous strength. It says, “What happened to me matters, and I matter enough to heal from it.”
To schedule an appointment or learn more about how I can help you manage PTSD symptoms, please call (713) 487-5574 or email me at drriggins@protonmail.com.
