Originally published on Heal Right Now on April 29, 2016 By Cissy White.
This is a collaborative effort between five feisty survivors. We are determined to change the Google (Bing and Yahoo) search results which show men at war as the predominant image of PTSD.
We want to harness the power of social media and technology and use it do old school grassroots organizing.
Images need to accurately reflect the experiences and lives of women, children and civilian men.
The fact is that twice as many women get PTSD as men. Our experiences matter. They are not being captured or reflected. What is usually seen are screenshot images like these:
Important but incomplete.
Support the #FacesOfPTSD campaign. Change the images.
Share a picture of yourself or a loved one who has PTSD or has battled post-traumatic stress.
Or, use the images in this blog that we have permission to use.
Help people feel less alone and to provide new images to search engines. I mean, this cat that might have PTSD shows up under a Google ‘PTSD’ search before a woman does.
There are women, children and civilian men battling PTSD daily. Some have already lost their fights and lost lives. This is not a frivolous issue. Please help us spread the word.
Formal Campaign Kick-Off Date?
May 6th. We are asking for support and building momentum this week.
Tagline?
“Not all wars take place on a battlefield.” – Arwen Faulkener
What is the #FacesOfPTSD Project?
A social media campaign where people who identify as having, or have had PTSD, share photos of themselves. Any photo. Feeling sad, show us. Feeling blah, show us. Feeling happy, show us that too. Just because we have suffered more than most doesn’t mean we are never happy. Just make sure you add the hashtag #FacesOfPTSD so we can all follow along, and hopefully change the landscape of PTSD online search.
Why the #FacesOfPTSD Project?
There is a misconception about who suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and what they look like. A quick Google search will lead you to believe that the majority of those living with PTSD are men in uniform. The reality is that women are twice as likely to develop PTSD than men, and not all wars take place on the battlefield. We want to change the images that people have of PTSD and portray them more accurately within our culture.
What You Can Do To Take Part?
- Take a picture of yourself, add the hashtag #FacesOfPTSD and post it to any or all of your social media outlets. Feel free to use one of the two templates attached to this email.
- If the cause doesn’t apply to you, but you want to show your support, share one of the images attached to this email or share Not All Wars Take Place on the Battlefield, an article featured on Huffington Post Impact describing the #FacesOfPTSD movement, with your audiences (friends, family, networks, followers, groups, organizations, ect.).
- Know the facts. Women get PTSD, twice as often as men. Children get PTSD. Civilian men get PTSD and women in the military get PTSD too (more often from sexual assault than combat).
- Help us by using accurate images when doing blog posts or articles about PTSD.Cis Andrea PTSD.
If one of these images ends up on the first page of search engines, then this will have been a success!!
Need a Photo?
Use any of the photos in this blog post to help spread awareness.
Media contacts / Questions to:
US:
Christine “Cissy” White cissy_white@comcast.net 781-331-4679
Dawn – triggerpointsanthology@gmail.com
Canada:
Jodie Ortega jodieortega07@gmail.com
This Campaign is a Joint Initiative of:
Christine “Cissy” White of Heal Write Now / How to Live On Earth When You Were Raised in Hell
Arwen Faulkner of Lilacs in October
Jodie Ortega https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2xYSYLPuy4
Dawn Daum and Joyelle Brandt of Trigger Points Anthology
We have worked together to make this happen and would like you, as an individual or organization to join us.
This costs nothing. We can make a difference just by sharing.
Heal Write Now was created in 2014 to speak to what it’s like to live, love & parent well with post-traumatic stress from the expertise of someone with personal experience – a voice rarely heard. Research is summarized research, survivors interviewed, quotes compiled and memoir & essays shared. There are no ads or even pop-up windows (too intrusive) and the content is all free for survivors because we’ve already paid enough. However, I’m a free-lancer, single mother & this is a one-woman operation. If you want to support my activism, advocacy, breaking the cycle and the silence, I will be grateful. In fact I invite you to do so if you wish & can. And thank you for visiting. I hope you come back.
