Iron M Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter – Today, I am going to talk about something that is not talked about enough; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. For those of you who do not know, PTSD is defined by the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs as “a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood.” (“What is PTSD?”) B. Tie to the Audience – I am sure that there are a few people in this class that have had a family member or friend suffer from PTSD.

Several different factors can contribute to how a person responds to a traumatic stressor and scientist and theoreticians have found other factors can determine individuals who are more likely to develop PTSD when exposed to a catastrophic event. These factors can include their past exposure to trauma, their mental health history, their families’ history of psychological problem, age, gender, biological makeup, social network, as well accessibility to mental health treatment facilities.

With the recent release of the popular movie and book American Sniper, much attention has been drawn to the effects of the disease of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on its victims. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental illness from going through a traumatic experience, is more prevalent in veterans and men currently serving in the military, and it is important that effective treatment be sought.

The DSM-5 defines Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as the result of “exposure to a traumatic event that causes feelings of extreme fear, horror, or helplessness.” (Ozer, 2004, p.169) Trauma is viewed differently by people, so the question is raised of what events are considered traumatic and to whom? (p. 171) Statistics from an updated U.S. National Comorbidity Survey show that the disorder prevails in 6.8% of adults and one third of those affected suffer from an extreme case. (Bisson, 2007, p.790) There is not one particular event that triggers PTSD. People can be affected by many different situations and anyone can develop the disorder.

The term “Psychological trauma” refers to damage wrought from a traumatic event, which that damages one’s ability to cope with stressors. “Trauma” is commonly defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Specific types of client trauma frequently encountered by which therapists and other mental health workers frequently encounter in a clinical setting include sexual abuse, physical , or sexual assault, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, domestic violence, and school or/and work related violence (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, affects many of our nation’s veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that in the Vietnam War, almost thirty-one percent of its veterans, when they came back to the United States, developed PTSD. In recent history, eleven percent of veterans from the Afghanistan War and twenty percent of veterans from the Iraqi War have developed PTSD after arriving back in the states. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, though brought into the light recently by veterans, is still widely unknown, mainly in what the symptoms are, diagnosis, and treatments.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can affect the ones personally experiencing the ordeal and the ones that have witnessed it. A list of events that can leave you feeling stuck or helpless, which in turn can lead to PTSD are war, natural disasters, car or plane crashes, terrorist attacks, sudden death of a loved one, kidnapping, assault, sexual or physical abuse, and childhood neglect (Segal & Smith, 2014). These traumatic occurrences that lead to post-traumatic stress disorder are usually so overwhelming and frightening that they would upset anyone. Most of the people that are exposed to these situations may experience a symptom such as distress. This symptom can arise quickly and gradually or come and go over a period of time.

Besides trauma, there also a number of factors that can increase the chance that someone will have PTSD. For example, having a very intense or long-lasting traumatic event or getting injured during the event can make it more likely that a person will develop PTSD. PTSD is also more common after certain types of trauma, like combat and sexual assault. (What is

PTSD was first taken seriously when the Vietnam veterans returned from the war. Combat experience is the most commonly linked to this disorder. However, studies have shown that there are many different causes. These studies were applied to a wide variety of traumas that people have experienced in various horrific events. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, “about 4% of American adults ages 18-54 suffers from PTSD in a given year. These people have served in wars, have been raped or mugged, lived through natural disasters, terrorist attacks or car or plane crashes” (Mitchell). Anyone who experiences an unnerving situation is at risk for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is seen as more of an archaic disorder in the

PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an increasing problem in our country. PTSD has its roots in the military, but the entire populace is subject to its effects. I served my country for the past 21 years and have seen the before and after of the effects of combat, so any discussions about PTSD, diagnosis, treatments, and cures is likely to catch my eye. In this paper, we will discuss the basics on PTSD, current rates in society, and list the possible cures and or treatments that are currently in use. The prevalence in society should show that all people should be familiar with the signs and systems, as well as knowing some of the basic treatments to assist afflicted individuals. The goal of this paper is to provide just that for the reader.

There are many things that can possibly cause a person to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Any event that is life threatening or threatens physical harm can cause PTSD. These events may include: sexual abuse or violence, physical abuse, natural or man-made disasters, violent crimes such as kidnapping or school shootings, car or plane crashes (Hamblen). The event does not have to always directly happen to the person though. PTSD can also occur after being exposed to things such as community violence, war, or domestic violence (Hamblen). Certain variables also can increase a person’s risk of developing PTSD in their lifetime. “Risk factors include: female gender previous trauma exposure, preexisting psychiatric disorders, parental psychopathology, and low social support” (Hamblen).

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental disorder that can stem from a traumatic experience. “The risk of exposure to trauma has been a part of the human condition since we evolved as a species.” Traumatic experiences are part of being human and will always be a part of our existence. PTSD can stem from anything as small as a fender bender in a parking lot to being in a war zone and seeing your friend get shot. We can see many soldiers from World War II and Vietnam that have this disorder. Any experience a human finds traumatic could eventually cause PTSD.

This cause included actual threatened or serious injury, threat to one’s physical integrity, witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or threat to the physical integrity of another person, also learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate. For example, I have friends that lives in Chicago. They always tell me how violent some parts of the area arevery dangerous. A couple of years ago I was told that one of my friends witnessed our friend getting shot to death. Now my friend can’t sleep at night, he has vivid memories of the moment it happened even if it was years ago. When we go through things in our life it puts us in different spaces which can be hard for an individual to move on from. Examples of traumatic events experienced directly include military combat, violent personal assault (sexual assault, physical attack, robbery, mugging, being kidnapped, being taken hostage, terrorists attack, torture, incarceration as a prisoner of war or in a concentrationcamp, natural or manmade disasters, severe automobile accidents. Examples of events experienced by others that are learned about. Learning of a violent personal assault, serious accident, or serious injury experienced by a family member or a close friend, learning about a sudden, unexpected death of a family member or close friend, learning that one’s child has a life-threatening disease. One learned event that has personally affected me has to be the death of my mom. My mom’s death was unexpected. When we go through things it makes us feel anavoid in our lives, at least that’s how I feel. I feel like a piece of my heart is gone from that experience. It was also traumatizing learning that one of my close friends from childhood was been molested by her father for years. When I found out about my friend going through that it made me very scared

People wonder what can cause PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). There are multiple things such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and military combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder victims deal with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts on a regular basis if they are not getting treatment which can be as simple as therapy once a month or as complex as taking medications daily and going to therapy on a regular basis even then victims can still experience anxiety and depression.

A physical indicator of this type of symptom is nightmares in which the individual relives the event. Re-experiencing symptoms are often triggered by a sound, sight, or event that causes the individual to relive the initial trauma. For example, triggers might include a seemingly trivial occurrence such as hearing a car backfire which could resurface memories of gunfire for a combat war Veteran, or seeing a car accident which can remind a crash survivor of their own accident (Friedman, 2007). The second type of symptom frequently occurring in individuals with PTSD is avoiding situations that serve as a reminder of the initial event. Individuals with this symptom may choose to purposely avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the initial traumatic event (Friedman, 2007). For example, a person who underwent a devastating earthquake may avoid watching television shows or movies involving earthquakes. Also these individuals may simply attempt to stay extremely busy to avoid having to think or to talk about the traumatic event that occurred. The third type of symptom most often experienced by individuals is emotional numbness (Friedman, 2007). Often victims of PTSD find it difficult to accurately express their feelings. Consequently, not only is it easier for these individuals to avoid expressing their feelings, but it also allows them to avoid memories of the catalytic event. Individuals