Why do people post on social media about support for PTSD and sympathy for Soldiers who have it but have know understanding of it?

There are people out there who mean well and want to legitimately show support for those struggling. There are others who are doing it only to make people think they are good publically, even if behind the scenes they couldn't care less. It's all about them likes.

I think the biggest thing to realize is that PTSD while albeit is a straight to the point name, it is NOT a "cookie-cutter" condition". It in fact is the complete opposite. People whom have been diagnosed with PTSD have had or currently have different experiences, symptoms, triggers and coping mechanisms. So from someone who has had med management to individual therapy and group sessions revolving around PTSD, no two people with PTSD are 100% alike. Once those who are involved with supporting the people who have been diagnosed with it realize and recognize this only then can proper treatment plans become developed. But also keep in mind, PTSD isn't something that "goes away overnight" and there's no magic pill that can make it go away. It takes time.....ALOT OF TIME...and self reflection. You have to figure out what your triggers are and how to not only avoid them but if they become unavoidable, (i.e. Fireworks on holidays or kids running and hollering), but how to cope during the onset of those triggers. You have to get to a place that if you do have support, to let them in so they can help become a part of your coping mechanism rather than your trigger. Like I said it takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work and even for someone like me, even after 11 years I'm coping and dodging triggers.

This is something we struggle with in the field I'm studying for in college right now (Psychology). People don't have the slightest idea what someone suffering from PTSD goes through, what they should expect from a PTSD sufferer, how they should act around one (although, I think it's worse when people try to act differently than they normally would). The reality is, there has been such a stigma associated with any mental health disorder, let alone PTSD, that educating the public on these matters has been nearly impossible until recent years. It's almost as though the recent attention given to PTSD, as a result of veterans suffering from it, has made it so society is finally ready to listen.

Personally, I think a lot of the stuff we see on social media amounts to little more than an empty gesture, right there with when someone says, "I'll be praying for you." Granted, neither of those are always empty gestures, and there is a certain amount of comfort that can be drawn from them, but usually the statement is where the gesture ends. People think about PTSD for as long as it takes to click the "share" button, and then they move on. Society also doesn't realize how many people PTSD affects. It's not just veterans, but sexual assault victims, and a wide variety of others. For now, I think educating people about PTSD, and I mean a lot of educating, is the first step before those empty gestures start gaining some teeth.