If you have a diagnosis of PTSD then you likely experience strong negative emotions from time to time, and as a result, you may likely find that managing your emotions can be a difficult thing to do. You are not alone. Study after study has shown that people with PTSD experience more difficulties managing their emotions. PTSD can result in the experience of intense and frequent negative emotions, such as shame, anger, fear and sadness.

These emotions can be hard to manage; consequently, many people with PTSD develop unhealthy ways of regulating their emotions, such as through substance use or deliberate self-harm. Although these strategies may work initially, in the long-run they will only increase your distress. Therefore, it is important to develop healthy ways of managing your emotions, such as through expressive writing, self-soothing or seeking social support.

Identifying healthy ways of managing your emotions is only one piece of the puzzle. There are additional steps you may want to take to ensure that the healthy emotion regulation strategies you come up with will be successful. Listed in this article are some tips on how to improve the effectiveness of your strategies.

There are a number of different types of traumatic events that can lead to the development of PTSD, and one such type is the experience of a life-threatening illness, such as asthma. Asthma is very common in the general population, and because of this, many people might think that asthma really isn't life-threatening.

However, asthma is one of the most common childhood chronic illnesses, and it can have a tremendous negative impact on a child's life and may even result in death. In fact, asthma accounts for one-fourth of all emergency room visits in the United States per year and is the third ranking cause of hospitalization for children. Further, there are more than 4,000 deaths each year that can be attributed to asthma, and asthma can be considered a contributing factor for an additional 7,000 deaths per year.

Asthma attacks definitely meet criteria for a traumatic event according to the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. First, asthma attacks may be life-threatening or cause physical harm. In addition, the unexpected nature of an asthma attack, as well as the physical symptoms that accompany an asthma attack, may bring about feelings of fear, helpless, and horror. Given this, asthma can definitely be considered a potentially life-threatening illness that could lead to the development of PTSD symptoms.

You can learn more about the relationship between PTSD and asthma attacks in this article from About.com.

Many people with PTSD struggle in coping with flashbacks. Flashbacks are considered one of the re-experiencing symptoms of PTSD. In a flashback, a person may feel or act as though a traumatic event is happening again. A flashback may be temporary and some connection with the present moment may be maintained, or a person may lose all awareness of what is going on around him, being taken completely back to their traumatic event.

Flashbacks may occur as a result of encountering triggers, or a reminder of a traumatic event. To the extent that people are not aware of their triggers, flashbacks can be incredibly disruptive and unpredictable events that are difficult to manage. However, you can take steps to better manage and prevent flashbacks. Learn more about some healthy ways of managing flashbacks in this article from About.com.

Monday, May 27th, is Memorial Day. Take some time to recognize, remember, and honor those who lost their lives in service to the United States of America.