This June marks the annual commemoration of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month in the United States. While an estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD at some point in their lives, there are still so many things that are misunderstood about the disorder and how it affects people. PTSD is a mental health condition that sometimes develops following the experience of a traumatic event or events. While treatment is available, many diagnosed with PTSD struggle to overcome debilitating symptoms such as vivid flashbacks, sleep disturbances, irritability, and depression
So this month, we acknowledge all those who struggle with PTSD and hope to offer resources for further understanding and opportunities for healing. If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with PTSD, please know that you are not alone. Here are 15 listens that can provide comfort and guidance on your path toward healing.
Please note that the audiobooks featured this list frankly discuss trauma and recovery in a way that may be triggering for some listeners. Please listen with care.
What My Bones Know is an inspiring, honest memoir about facing complex PTSD (C-PTSD), narrated by the author herself. From the outside looking in, Stephanie Foo seemed to have it all—a loving boyfriend, a successful career at NPR, and a number of awards and accolades. But internally, Foo was struggling with C-PTSD following years of verbal abuse and neglect, and she was having difficulty finding resources to help her. So, Foo set out to write this book in the hopes of finding more resources and support for others who are also struggling to make sense of their trauma. Through telling her own story, sharing her trial and error with different therapies, and interviewing scientists and psychologists, Foo's memoir is perfect for anyone looking for a pathway to hope.
Have you ever felt like you're on the outside looking in when it comes to certain behaviors, unable to make sense of why you do what you do or act a given way? Have you ever asked yourself, "What's wrong with me?" If so, you're asking the wrong questions. Co-authors Dr. Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey believe it's time to reflect by instead inquiring, "What happened to me?" Through her conversations with Dr. Perry, Winfrey gets incredibly vulnerable in this audiobook, opening up about her personal trauma. This valuable listen reveals that by searching for insights into our past, we can actually redirect our future.
The depression, the anxiety, the phobias—they didn't start with us. In fact, according to leading experts in post-traumatic stress, trauma is often passed down through generations. In this audiobook, Mark Wolynn, the founder and director of the Family Constellation Institute, offers listeners an easy-to-understand guide to his method to overcoming generational trauma: the Core Language Approach. If traditional therapy and medication have not been the answer for you, this might just be the key.
How do you begin to process your trauma while simultaneously existing in a world where you consistently feel oppressed and undervalued? If you are a person of color dealing with C-PTSD, your experiences and your responses to trauma are unique. If you've experienced repeated discrimination, verbal assault, stigmatization, or other forms of interpersonal violence based on your race, you are not alone. The Pain We Carry is an audiobook that acknowledges your pain and offers tools to confront and heal from your trauma.
If we want to truly heal trauma, we need to start looking at it as less of an individual problem and more of a societal issue. In this audiobook narrated by Julie Slater, author Staci K. Haines addresses the social conditions that create and perpetuate trauma. As we confront the realities of our own traumas, Haines invites us to acknowledge the societal factors that contribute to them, such as racism, poverty, sexism, and more. Once we address the sources of trauma, then we can truly work toward societal transformation and, in turn, individual healing.
Despite the fact that PTSD is now a fairly commonly understood term, people still tend to misunderstand what kind of events can lead to intense trauma. In fact, trauma can be caused by all kinds of experiences, from the most extreme events to any moment that made us feel insecure or emotionally vulnerable. Narrated by the author, licensed therapist Kati Morton, Traumatized acknowledges all the types of events that we face in contemporary society that could lead to trauma, from global pandemics to mass shootings. The more we come to understand our triggers, the more we can learn to cope with our trauma.
The key to overcoming your pain might be embracing it rather than fighting it. That's the message of Struggle Well by Ken Falke and Josh Goldberg, experts with the Boulder Crest Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting members of the military, first responders, and their families through the emotional aftermath of traumatic events. In this audiobook, which they narrate along with Brian Grady and Charlie Plumb, the co-authors share their field-tested approach to working through PTSD to achieve PTG—Post-traumatic Growth. Offering encouragement and guidance, Struggle Well shows how facing your past experience and making peace with your trauma helps to free you to plan a better path for your future.
If you feel traumatized by terrible things others have done to you, you might be especially frustrated that you are forced to continuously relive these events over and over again while they get to move on with their lives. Author and narrator Lysa TerKeurst has been there, and in Forgiving What You Can't Forget, she's here to share her experiences and give you permission to also forgive so you can move on. This audiobook is ideal for listeners experiencing trauma who find comfort in faith as well as therapy.
If you are working to overcome intense childhood trauma, Pete Walker's Complex PTSD is the audiobook for you. Pete Walker is a licensed psychotherapist who gives listeners insight into recovery by sharing his own journey and the stories of his clients. This audiobook, narrated by Paul Brion, will give you hope and show you that there are ways of living a fulfilling life beyond the feelings of rejection and neglect you experienced as a child.
People who experience complex PTSD often have trouble escaping feelings of hopelessness and despair and frequently battle intense anxiety. Many can't get past the negative feelings they have about themselves. If you struggle with any of these difficult thoughts or feelings, then try listening to Mike Steele's narration of The Complex PTSD Recovery Guide. Here, therapist Damian Blair offers listeners a guide to identifying C-PTSD symptoms, overcoming negative self-perception, getting over stress-based fear, and more.
Trauma Recovery is your audio guide to finding a way out of your traumatic experiences. As someone who has survived complex trauma herself, Dr. Arielle Schwartz wants listeners to know it is possible to not only survive but thrive. Narrated by the author, this audiobook is meant to be a self-guided course through effective ways to treat PTSD and C-PTSD. Through six courses, you will learn how to identify trauma and how to recover from it, making this listen the perfect compliment to one-on-one professional therapy.
If you're looking for help with easing the symptoms of PTSD, this listen might be of great use. Shivani Batra's Meditations for PTSD offers effective meditations written by experts. This audiobook will help you calm your mind right away through warm-up meditations with the narrator, Alyssa Rhoads. Then the audio will guide you through visualizations to help confront six different PTSD symptoms, affirmations to help you reprogram your mind, and much more.
Unfortunately, trauma is an everyday reality for many, one that reshapes us by fundamentally changing the way we see the world around us and how we react to people and challenges. This New York Times bestseller from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts in the field, has quickly become a classic on understanding and healing from trauma. Combining the author's original research with findings from leading specialists across many fields, The Body Keeps the Score explores a variety of methods for tapping into the brain's natural resilience to acknowledge the effects of trauma and reclaim our lives.
When therapist Elizabeth Heaney left her private practice to work closely with military service members and their families, she wasn't prepared to encounter such devastating struggles and fears. In The Honor Was Mine, she shares real stories from soldiers—told in their own words—who experienced PTSD following their time in combat and their battles to readjust to civilian life. Deeply affecting, this listen is a testament to the courage and strength of war veterans and their loved ones through the emotional aftershocks that so often follow a return from the battlefield.
PTSD has lasting effects on not only those diagnosed but also their family members, spouses, and significant others. This is why audiobooks like Loving Someone with PTSD are so important. If you love someone who is suffering with PTSD, and you want to help them through their treatment and recovery—but are unsure of what to do—start here. A renowned trauma expert, Dr. Aphrodite Matsakis offers practical guidance on how to support your loved one and encourage them to implement coping strategies for dealing with symptoms as they arise while also managing your own sense of feeling overwhelmed.
