As a childhood survivor of war, the congresswoman isn’t trivializing the troops by talking about her trauma

Let’s say it plainly: The conservative obsession with Rep. Ilhan Omar has become downright pathological.

Conservatives have been fixating on Omar’s comments at a Wednesday press conference on how the escalating tension between the United States and Iran is causing her to experience PTSD. Indiana Rep. Jim Banks tweeted that her comments were “a disgrace and offense to our nation’s veterans.” Fox News host Laura Ingraham also tweeted sarcastically, “Call the medic!” Omar responded by pointing out that she was a childhood survivor of war (the congresswoman spent years in a refugee camp as a young child); right-wingers responded by either insisting that her behavior is inconsistent with someone experiencing PTSD or claiming that she’s somehow disrespecting the troops by talking about her trauma.

The truth is that PTSD sufferers can be soldiers, rape victims, war survivors, car accident victims, or anyone who has gone through a traumatic event. I know not just because this is accepted medical knowledge, but because I had PTSD after the life-threatening birth of my daughter. What started with nightmares and flashbacks turned into intrusive thoughts, blackouts, and severe depression.

Despite the fact that PTSD after a traumatic childbirth happens often, and studies show that parents with children in the NICU are at increased risk of PTSD, it took months for me to seek help and understand what my symptoms actually were. I was hesitant to acknowledge what was happening, in part because I thought of PTSD as something that afflicted veterans, not everyday citizens.

PTSD sufferers can be soldiers, rape victims, war survivors, car accident victims, or anyone who has gone through a traumatic event.

That’s why those who insist that only soldiers can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder aren’t propagating only a false claim, but also a dangerous one. It makes it all the harder for people suffering to recognize their symptoms for what they are and to get help. (This is especially troubling considering the increased risk for suicidal thoughts and actions among those with PTSD.)

It’s been nearly 10 years since my daughter was born, and every now and then I’ll have a symptom pop up unexpectedly. A few years ago, for example, I had a severe panic attack that seemingly came out of nowhere. Later, I figured out that a truck outside my house had been beeping for about a half-hour — something that triggered memories of the beeping in the NICU where my daughter spent eight weeks fighting for her life. No one but Omar knows what her experience was like, and no one else knows the kind of trauma she still carries with her.

PTSD is a tricky, slippery thing — it doesn’t affect everyone the same way, nor does it strike only those who have been through one specific type of tragedy. Veterans fought hard for mental health professionals to recognize, name, and treat PTSD for what it is. Talking about the wide swath of people who suffer from the condition doesn’t disrespect that service — but lying about it does.