A Look into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Rachael S
09/15/2013
PTSD affects 7.7 million American adults, but it can occur at any age (NIMH, PTSD, Who is at risk). The sight of violence and death leaves lasting effects on people. How do you think those people cope with what they saw when the Twin Towers went down? How do people cope with such traumatic experiences? The events that lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can impact one’s life, fortunately there are ways to treat it.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), post-traumatic stress disorder Para 2). It is the consequence of
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In some people symptoms can become chronic. After the diagnosis has been established, it’s best to start treatment right away.
The main treatments for people with PTSD are psychotherapy, medications, or both (NIMH, PTSD, treatments). It’s important to find a mental health provider that is experienced with PTSD. There are different types of psychotherapy also known as “talk” therapy (NIMH, PTSD, treatments, Page 5). Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has several parts to it including Exposure therapy, Cognitive restructuring, and Stress inoculation training. Exposure therapy helps people face and control their fear. It exposes them to the trauma they experienced by using mental imagery, writing, or visits to the place where the event happened. The therapist uses these tools to help people cope with their feelings. Cognitive restructuring helps people make sense of the bad memories. This therapy helps people look at what happened in a realistic way, because sometimes people remember the event differently than how it happened (NIMH, PTSD, treatments, Page 6). People with PTSD may feel guilty for what happened, even though it was not their fault. Stress inoculation training therapy tries to reduce PTSD symptoms by teaching a person how to reduce anxiety, by helping
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder also known as PTSD is an emotional condition that can develop following a terrifying or traumatic event.
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" plays an important role in providing information with regard to the disorder and thus makes it possible for readers to gain a more complex understanding of the condition. The article primarily documents the disorder's background, the prevalence with which it happens, and reasons why individuals come to suffer from the condition. By emphasizing that PTSD is practically the body's attempt to raise a person's awareness concerning the gravity of the situation that he or she has been in, the article makes it possible for readers to understand that one of the best way to fight the condition's harmful effects would be for the individual to acknowledge that he or she holds a great deal of power and that it is essential for him or her to make use of that power in order to improve his or her mental health.
When humans undergo traumatic events that threaten their safety and wellbeing, they may become vulnerable to nightmares, fear, excessive anxiety, depression, and trembling. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological illness that results from the occurrence of a “terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise unsafe experience” (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 2012). This condition often leads to unbearable stress and anxiety. PTSD is significantly prevalent as indicated by data from the National Co-morbidity Survey which shows that at a particular time in their lives, 7.8% of 5, 877 adults in America suffered from PTSD (Andrew & Bisson, 2009). In the general population, the lifetime prevalence is estimated at 8%,
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.
Morris states that the worst things in the world enter the brain in an instant, though it may take the rest of someone’s life to understand what they saw (Morris 45). Monjaraz says that he saw brutal things and did not get affected by it until the night time came around. He cried in his sleep, made groaning noises, mumbled things and had night sweats (Monjaraz). Morris states that fundamentally, we do not know why some people are damaged by terror and some are not. He adds that according to the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, the
Imagine living your entire life in constant fear. People often experience a sense of fear after living through an upsetting event. However, the feelings of fear, sadness, and anxiety slowly drift away and go back to normal. This is not the case for people diagnosed with PTSD. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be developed following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless”. (Smith, Segal, 2014). Society oftens links PTSD with soldiers being traumatized by war events, however, anybody can develop PTSD from any type of overwhelming life experience.
PTSD sure does seem to have a lot of signs and symptoms, so some say it can not possibly have any treatments. Well as a matter of fact there are treatments for PTSD. Treatments for PTSD consist of cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, group therapy, family therapy, and certain medications. Medications depend on which ones the doctors see as right for you. Now let's gain some insight on cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy is used to help you understand how you think about your trauma and its aftermath. The overall goal is to understand how certain thoughts about your trauma cause you to be stressed and make your symptoms worse. Eventually you will learn how to identify thoughts about the world and yourself that make you
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that may develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which severe physical harm occurred or was threatened. Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop post-traumatic stress disorder including military troops who served in wars; rescue workers for catastrophes for example 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.; survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing; survivors of accidents, rape, physical or sexual abuse, and other crimes; immigrants fleeing violence in their countries; survivors of earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes; and those who witness traumatic events can also develop post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychotherapy and medication are the two forms of treatment for PTSD, but often they are used together. While these methods are not exclusive to PTSD, they are also used for anxiety and depression as well as other mental illnesses. Psychotherapy is often referred to as talk therapy which is where one discusses their problems while learning to cope. Cognitive therapy helps one recognize that negative thoughts about normal situations will not help in overcoming their disorder. Exposure therapy helps one face what is causing the trauma, but is conducted over a period of time while in a safe environment. This therapy is usually used with cognitive therapy when someone has PTSD, however they work with other forms of mental illness disorders as well. (“Post-traumatic stress,”
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an overwhelming type of psychological condition that is caused by extreme stress. There has been a significant increase of people diagnosed with PTSD because of issues like war, death, catastrophes, ect… (Meis, Erbes, Polusny, & Compton, 2010). A marriage can be very challenging and if one of the parties has post-traumatic stress disorder it is very hard to cope with. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an illness that affects many people. The ones that are diagnosed with this disorder are usually exposed
Prostitution is one of the oldest occupations in history. Even in the early days, in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, there was sex trade. When you think of a prostitute, you think of a semi-nude, dirty woman on the sidewalk; however, not all prostitutes work this way. There are call-girls, or escorts, who work in high end places and through agencies. The allotment that people do not focus on is the psychological effects on the prostitutes.
Regardless of the career or social engagements, individuals are always prone to traumatic events that change the perception of the world. The impact of the traumatic event lasts for varied time periods depending on several factors such as the capacity of an individual to absorb stress. Although traumatic events are a great result of war or any life threatening actions, there are several factors that amount to a traumatic event. Post-traumatic stress disorder can be described as a psychological response in regard to the experience resulting from intense traumatic events and more so those events that threaten life. Post-traumatic stress disorder can affect individuals across diverse groups of age, gender, and culture. While the concept of post-traumatic
Paul suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which causes severe emotional distress when he is startled by loud noises. Before purchasing the parsonage (Pastor’s house) from a rural church, Paul visited the neighborhood at various times to ensure that the neighborhood was quiet.
Contrary to the research involved in causes, the field of treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has had major advancements. Treatment for PTSD is widely developed and there are several ways in which one can be treated for this mental health condition. Through the Cognitive Behavioral Perspective, the most common form of treatment is Cognitive Behavior Therapy. CBT focuses “on identifying, understanding, and changing thinking and behavior patterns” (Anxitey, 2016). CBT has subdivision as well, which consist of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR), and Stress Inoculation Training (SIT). In specific, Cognitive Processing Therapy assists people in focusing on the way
Anathi has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The symptoms from the case study used to make this diagnosis are: Intrusive/re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance of traumatic reminders, changes in mood or cognitions and hyperarousal.