For years, I’ve listened to veterans talk about PTSD. I’ve heard the stories, the struggles, the victories, and the setbacks. I’ve watched people carry the weight of combat, trauma, loss, and experiences most people will never fully understand. I’ve also noticed something happening in conversations among veterans. More and more are dropping the d in PTSD.
The d stands for disorder. For many veterans, that’s where the problem begins.
When I talk with veterans, I rarely hear them describe themselves as disordered. I hear them describe themselves as injured. There is a difference. A disorder can sound like something is wrong with the person. An injury acknowledges that something happened to the person. That distinction matters because words shape the way we see ourselves.
I am a veteran. My husband Jay is a combat veteran. Between the two of us, we’ve spent countless hours talking with service members, spouses, and veterans who are trying to make sense of life after trauma. One thing I’ve learned is that many people get stuck because they begin to identify with their diagnosis instead of recognizing it as one part of their journey.
When people believe they are broken, they often stop looking for growth. When people see themselves as injured, they begin looking for ways to heal.
That doesn’t mean the symptoms aren’t real. The nightmares are real. The anxiety is real. The hypervigilance is real. The anger, the isolation, and the emotional exhaustion are real. None of that disappears because someone chooses different language. What changes is the mindset surrounding it.
Healing starts with understanding that trauma is something that happened to you. It isn’t who you are.
I think many veterans are rejecting the d because they’ve spent enough time fighting labels. They don’t want to spend the rest of their lives carrying another one. They want to acknowledge their injury without allowing it to become their identity.
There is a danger in making trauma the center of your life. When every decision, every relationship, and every challenge gets filtered through that lens, it becomes difficult to see yourself as anything else. You stop seeing your strengths. You stop seeing your growth. You stop seeing the person who existed before the injury.
That’s why self awareness matters so much. Healing requires us to be honest about our struggles without becoming consumed by them. It requires us to recognize our symptoms while also recognizing our strengths. It asks us to take responsibility for our recovery without taking blame for what happened to us.
The goal isn’t to pretend trauma didn’t happen. The goal is to stop giving it complete control over the story.
Whether someone chooses to say PTSD or PTS is a personal decision. I’m not interested in telling people what language they should use. What interests me is the message behind the change. Veterans are reminding themselves and others that they are more than a diagnosis. More than a label. More than one chapter of their lives.
The d doesn’t define me. It doesn’t define my husband. And it doesn’t define the countless veterans I’ve had the privilege of knowing.
We are not our injuries.
We are what we choose to do with them.
About the Author
Kaila Fain is a veteran, advocate, and community mentor based in Kansas City. She works daily with service members, families, and survivors, helping them rebuild from the inside out. Her approach focuses on self awareness, resilience, and choosing growth even in the hardest seasons.
