LANDIS — The N.C. Veterans PTSD Awareness 5K walk will be Saturday, Nov. 4, starting at 10 a.m. at Corriher Lake Wilderness Area.

The area is across from the South Rowan YMCA, at 950 Kimball Road, China Grove.

The walk is a charity event to raise awareness of PTSD and is sponsored by American Legion Post 146.

Donations received will be given to the Salisbury VA Medical Center PTSD program to help veterans.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur after a person has been through any traumatic event.

It could be combat exposure, sexual or physical abuse, serious accidents, natural disasters or fires.

During a traumatic event, you think your life or others’ lives are in danger. You may feel afraid that you have no control over what is happening, Most people have stress-related reactions, and not everyone gets PTSD. If your reactions don’t go away over time and they disrupt your life, you may have PTSD.

Four symptoms may indicate you have PTSD:

• Reliving the event through memories or nightmares. Often called a flashback.

• Avoiding situations that remind you of the event.

• Negative changes in beliefs and feeling. The way you think about yourself and others may change because of the trauma. You may feel fear, guilt or shame, or you may not be interested in activities you used to enjoy.

• Feeling keyed up. You may be jittery or always alert and on the lookout for danger. Or you may have trouble concentrating or sleeping.

Bottling up your feeling may be the first reaction, but treatment can help improve your life.

For more information about the walk, contact Timothy Nason, 704-637-3718 or Martha Corriher, 704-798-3625.

For more information on PTSD, go to http://www.ptsd.va.gove/omdex.asp; for information about the Salisbury VA Medical Center, visit http://www.salisbury.va.gov