Sports Illustrated recently posted a very inspiring story about Jaashawn Jones, a running back out of Delaware State University, who has a dream to play professional football. The story details the tremendous number of odds he has overcome, including witnessing the murder of his brother and the subsequent development of PTSD. This story is an inspiring account of how PTSD can be overcome and does not have to interfere with your dreams. Share your thoughts about this article in the About.com PTSD forum, as well as your own story about overcoming PTSD.

The experiences you have throughout your life can influence how you respond to and evaluate your emotions, especially in regard to the development of negative beliefs about emotions. People who have experienced traumatic events at some point in their life may be especially likely to develop strong negative beliefs about emotions. These beliefs may become further pronounced when a diagnosis of PTSD is thrown into the mix. PTSD may lead to strong and unpleasant emotions that may feel out of control, harmful, or unpredictable. It is understandable then that people may begin to view their emotions in a negative way. This article from About.com presents some common negative beliefs about emotions, provides information on where they may come from, and discusses ways to address these negative beliefs.

There are a number of effective treatments for PTSD, and after completing these treatments, many people experience a long-lasting, if not permanent, reduction in their symptoms. However, long-standing recovery from PTSD requires that you maintain and continue to practice the healthy coping skills you learned in treatment. Some people may start to experience symptoms that could be warning signs that PTSD symptoms or other problems (for example, depression) are coming back. Given this, it is very important to be on the look-out for certain symptoms, as they could be signs that you are experiencing difficulties coping with heightened levels of stress. This could put you at risk for experiencing PTSD symptoms or other problems, such as depression or other unhealthy behaviors, like alcohol misuse. This article from About.com presents some warning signs that you want to be on the look out for.

If you have a diagnosis of PTSD, it is very important to work on developing healthy ways of managing stress. Daily life stress and how you cope with that stress can have a major impact on your symptoms of PTSD and the symptoms of PTSD can increase your experience of daily life stress.

One major stressor that all citizens of the U.S. face each year is tax day. The IRS deadline for 2011 taxes is looming and is generally a major source of stress for most people. This stress might be even greater for people with PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD (e.g., concentration problems) can interfere with even the simplest activities and can make more complicated activities (such as completing your taxes) feel impossible. Given this, as the tax deadline approaches, it is important to take some steps to manage your stress in a healthy way. The American Psychological Association has put together some tips on how to manage tax-related stress. You can also find some healthy strategies for managing your tax-related anxiety at About.com.