National PTSD Awareness Day: Seen, Heard, and Healing

June 27 is National PTSD Awareness Day — a day that matters deeply in our community. But for many SOF families, PTSD isn’t just a diagnosis. It’s a presence. A shadow. A reality woven into the rhythms of everyday life.

Let’s be honest — most people still don’t talk about it.

They whisper it. They water it down. They treat it like a phase, or a problem to fix. But if you’ve lived with it — loved someone through it — you know better.

You know what it’s like to flinch at sudden noises.

To avoid crowded places.

To sleep with one eye open.

To parent solo while your partner’s body returns home, but their mind lags behind.

To smile at command functions while silently wondering if anyone else’s life is quietly falling apart too.

You know that PTSD doesn’t always look like the movies.

Sometimes it’s high-functioning. Sometimes it’s denial. Sometimes it wears a uniform, or a brave face, or a perfectly curated Instagram feed.

And sometimes… it looks like you — the spouse holding everything together.

PTSD Doesn’t Only Happen “Over There”

One of the biggest myths we must confront on this day is that PTSD only belongs to the veteran. The operator. The one who deployed.

But trauma is contagious — and it doesn’t respect boundaries.

Spouses develop it from years of hypervigilance and unpredictability.

Children absorb it through silence and invisible tension.

Families carry it forward in their nervous systems, in their coping patterns, in their relationships.

And yet… so many never get acknowledged.

Never get seen.

Never get help.

That’s Why We’re Here

At Lotus River Wellness, we believe PTSD Awareness Day should be more than a hashtag. It should be a turning point — where we stop normalizing suffering and start creating support.

Yoga is not a cure. But it is a powerful tool.

It slows the breath.

It restores the mind-body connection.

It offers a safe way to process what words can’t always touch.

And most importantly — it brings people together in a space where no one has to pretend they’re fine anymore.

Our trauma-informed Yoga Teacher Training was built for this. For military spouses who carry secondary trauma. For service members learning how to regulate. For families that need a new language for healing — one that doesn’t begin with medication or diagnosis, but with awareness, movement, and compassion.

If You’re Reading This and You’re Struggling

You are not weak. You are not broken.

Your nervous system did its job.

Your body protected you.

And now, you deserve peace.

Not someday. Not when things calm down.

Now.

Healing isn’t linear. It’s not perfect.

But it is possible.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

A Call to the Community

This National PTSD Awareness Day, let’s commit to more than awareness. Let’s commit to action.

📍 Check on your people — especially the strong ones.

📍 Stop minimizing symptoms because “other people have it worse.”

📍 Hold space. Not judgment.

📍 Learn the signs. Offer resources. Make it safe to speak up.

And if you’re a military spouse ready to do something meaningful with your lived experience, we invite you to join us. Our 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training isn’t just about yoga. It’s about reclaiming your nervous system, rewriting your story, and rising with a community that gets it.

PTSD may be invisible. But you’re not.

We see you.

We honor you.

And we’re building something just for you.

💓 With gentleness and grit —

The Lotus River Wellness Team