Dr. John A. King explains why veterans say PTS instead of PTSD: the word disorder carries stigma that can hurt job prospects and social standing. He argues the real problem isn't the diagnosis itself but society's refusal to separate a person from their condition.
Another question I often get asked, why do veterans like referring to it as post-traumatic stress and not post-traumatic stress disorder? Primarily because of the stigma that's still attached to mental illness. When you say someone has a disorder, they feel that it inhibits their conversations on a social level and also inhibits their ability to be able to get work in the workplace. So what they'd like to do is re— alter the conversation so they're concentrating on the person and not on the mental illness. Now, I personally, I don't have a problem with it being called a disorder because it— or an illness even. It's something that you have to learn to overcome over time. And I don't think the challenge lies with the person who struggles with PTSD or CPTSD. I think it lies with the rest of folk Just having to accept that PTSD does not equal postal, but it's someone who has an issue that's managing it.
