PTSD And Exposure Therapy

Post-traumatic stress disorder abbreviated PTSD is a response to traumatic events in someone’s life. Traumatic events are events that provoke fear, helplessness or horror in response to a threat or extreme stressor (Yehuda, 2002). Soldiers and other military members are at a much higher risk to Post traumatic stress disorder due to combat and other stressful situations they are put into. People effected by Post-traumatic stress disorder will have symptoms including flashbacks, avoidance of things, people or places that remind them of the traumatic event. Also, hyper arousal which includes insomnia, irritability, impaired concentration and higher startle reactions. In this paper I will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, its signs, symptom and effects on culture as portrayed in the movie, American Sniper.

The fear of heights can sometimes leave people frozen in terror. There is large amount of evidence suggesting that virtual reality therapy has successfully helped alleviate conditions similar to PTSD. This is accomplished by slowly increasing the amount of stressors, as to not overload the patient with irrational fear. For example, with fear of heights, researchers can gradually increase the difficulty of the simulation, so that the height of the platform increases after every session. In a similar case study, 49 patients had volunteered to participate in a virtual reality treatment for their fear of flying. Results showed, “By the 6-month follow-up, 90% of treated participants had flown since completing treatment” (Anderson 2001). Effectiveness also hugely depends on plausibility and affordability. We need to consider if this treatment is convenient for

Human experience in VR is typically distilled into the words presence and immersion, though immersion is a term used to describe only the technological aspect of VR (Slater & Wilbur, 1997). Instead, the subjective feelings associated with VR are measured in terms of the amount of presence felt in that environment. Intuitively, one would think that photo-realism is paramount to the feeling of presence in a virtual environment, but research has shown that this is not necessarily the case (Zimmons & Panter, 2003), with factors such as bodily representation (Slater & Usoh, 1994) and freedom of body movement (Slater & Steed, 2000) having a greater impact. Interestingly, belief that the virtual environment and real-world environment occupied by the participant are the same increases the feeling of presence in that virtual environment (Bouchard et al., 2012). Some have suggested that, ultimately, cues from other modalities, such as audio and haptic feedback, are necessary for our brain to believe VR experience (Ravassard et al., 2013); however, somewhat surprisingly, strong feelings of presence in VR can be achieved during fMRI, where the head is fixed, and loud noises are occurring (Hoffman et al., 2003). As mentioned, though, presence is greater when the participant has the ability to freely move (Slater & Steed,

The battles that go on between countries of the world are not just left on the grounds in which they were fought. The trauma of everyday exposure to the elements of war has created a lasting and often debilitating disorder for many veterans. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD has been a recurrent result of war leaving many survivors with prolonged physical, mental and emotional distress. Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced daily stressful situations including bombings, combat fire, and injuries. For those that make it home, PTSD is a common development of these stresses. Those who develop this disorder may experience relentless sleep disturbances, triggers, and recurring “flashback” or vivid memory recollections

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.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a silent assassin in which those around the victim have no idea what is taking place within their minds. Only those closest to the person recognize that there is something wrong. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnoses PTSD as persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, efforts to avoid triggers related to the trauma, and hyperarousal or increased reactivity (Reddy, 2014). PTSD is associated with exposure to a traumatic event and in some cases, symptoms of the disorder can take months or years to appear and even longer for the individual to seek help. PTSD is a very common occurrence in veterans, especially veterans who engaged in

The prevention of PTSD is a tricky area, because the trauma is not always assessed and treatment is not provided immediately after the event occurs. Research is continually examining methods and programs to prevent PTSD symptoms. A experimental program from NCIRE (Veterans Health Research Institute) goal was to prevent a pilot program to prevent PTSD symptoms from initially developing (Neylan, McCaslin-Rodrigo, & Choucroun, 2010). The Deployment Anxiety Reduction Training (DART) is one of the main focal point of reducing the initial stress reaction related to combat trauma, though stress is the normal reaction individuals have to life threatening situations and combat (Neylan et.al. 2010). PTSD symptoms are formed from the extreme stress of

Imagine returning home unscathed from battle to your physical body. Staff Sargent shakes your hand will depart the ship and the reality of being a citizen never truly becomes a real reality. Losing fellow friends, seeing heinous and often gruesome separation of body and limps and doctors check off as “A ok”. The true effects of PTSD are not limited to soldiers and the effects of PTSD are so vast that medical professionals often have troubles diagnosing all cases. Not to mention many victims of PTSD are unaware of what is causing all their anxiety attacks or depression so mix that all in with a government that doesn’t properly fund its veterans returning from battle with medical therapy and we are left with one giant mess of ticking time bombs that are struggling to ever truly feel at peace. It is the goal of this research to bring to light some of the critical issues of PTSD as well as current systems in place for treatment.

This therapy involves a combination of non-trauma focused therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and exposure therapy. The non-trauma portion of this therapy does not address the underlying traumatic event that caused the PTSD, but teaches the use of relaxation techniques and involves non-directive counseling. The EMDR therapy involves the military personnel identifying a traumatic memory and discussing a negative or positive thought related to that memory. The therapist then would move an object, back and forth, in front of the patient’s eyes, while focusing on the negative memory. The procedure would continue until the positive thoughts related to that memory, increased and the negative decreased (Burke et al., 2009). The exposure therapy takes place in a controlled environment and involves the gradual exposure to a replica of the stimuli, which triggered a negative reaction. Some of the creative exposure techniques being utilized involve computer technology and have proven to be both practical and effective (Burke et al.,

During the first session clinicians educate participants on chronic pain and PTSD. In this first session participants are asked to generate three reasonable goals they desire to achieve through therapy. Weekly goal completion is examined before each session occurs. The second session is where clinicians guide participants in making sense of the chronic pain and PTSD they have endured. The third session allows participants to discuss their thoughts and feelings towards their understanding of chronic pain and PTSD. The fourth session clinicians employ cognitive reconstructing by identifying negative thoughts and giving participants the opportunity to change these thoughts into positive ones. The fifth session involves participants learning diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. The sixth session, clinicians discuss avoidance and implement interoceptive exposure. The seventh session involves participants finding pleasant activities to enjoy. The eighth session is dedicated to education on sleep hygiene. The ninth session works with veterans safety and trust issues. The tenth session is where veterans learn about their own power, control, and anger. The eleventh session works on veteran’s esteem and intimacy. The final session is reserved for relapse prevention and planning for the future. Clinicians administered a pre and post treatment assessments as follows: The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), PTSD Checklist

This is a Phase 2, two-armed, randomized controlled trial study of a CAM intervention (Healing Touch with Guided Imagery) compared to treatment as usual. It was conducted at the Marine Corps Base Camp in Camp Pendleton, California with 123 active duty military personnel, of which 21 participants dropped out. Participants were chosen by hanging flyers at the Deployment Health Clinics and the mental health department at Camp Pendleton. Health care providers at these locations also provided candidates that were potentially eligible that were currently experiencing at least one or more of the hallmark PTSD symptoms. These include re-experiencing of trauma (i.e. flashbacks, nightmares), exaggerated arousal (i.e. insomnia, irritability), emotional numbing, and/or avoidance of people, places, situations that remind them of the trauma. From there, potential candidates were screened via telephone by research staff and, if eligible, they made an appointment to sign consent and complete pretest questionnaires. Each participant was randomized using a computer-generated randomization table by a statistician and assigned their groups; either Healing Touch with Guided Imagery (HT+GI) or TAU (Jain et al., 2012).

Many individuals tend to experience a traumatic event that will change their entire lives short-term or long-term wise. Exposure to traumatic events are more common in military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. By becoming exposed to the harsh conditions of a war-zone, such as violence or bloodshed, military veterans evoke a psychological response known as the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The common symptoms of PTSD tend to be aggressiveness, disturbances in sleep, and or paranoia. PTSD has the ability to severely damage the emotional and mental well-being of an individual. Not only that, but it also affects the way how one behaves around others. At times, PTSD and its severity goes unnoticed. This is a major reason as to why this topic will be explored in this paper. It is to bring awareness and urge the importance to go through treatments to cure

War is a complex concept that is increasingly difficult to understand, particularly in an age that allows for live images of combat to be beamed around the world. Many war films depict the brutalities of war and affects war has on participants, but it seems that these representations merely skim the surface. The 20th century is an era that saw a significant amount of military action: World Wars I and II, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War - millions of men fought, some survived and live among us today. Unfortunately, the war experience for many veterans is traumatizing and as a result, many have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This

“Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), specifically exposure therapy, has garnered a great deal of empirical support in the literature for the treatment of anxiety disorders” (Gerardi et al., 2010). Exposure therapy is an established PTSD treatment (Chambless & Ollendick, 2001) and so is a benchmark for comparing other therapies (Taylor et al, 2003). “Exposure therapy typically involves the patient repeatedly confronting the feared stimulus in a graded manner, either in imagination or in vivo. Emotional processing is an essential component of exposure therapy” (Gerardi et al., 2010). “Exposure therapy in the virtual environment allows the participant to experience a sense of presence in an immersive, computer-generated, three-dimensional,

The way that this form of therapy can be used in order to treat those who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder is typically done by VR (or Virtual reality) when they do this the patients are put into a simulation similar to the battle or war that they were taking place in (only done for those who were involved in war) by putting them into the similar situation as they were in when the traumatic experience occurred it allows for the patient to come to realization that the things that will happen in his or her new day to day environment back at home will not hurt him or her in any way near the emotional trauma that was felt when he or she was on duty in the military. By letting the patient realize that this is a true statement, it leads to an overall decrease in anxiety towards the subject, which shows a dramatic decrease in the symptoms of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder therefore allowing for the patient to overall live a better and healthier lifestyle, because as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is taken from someone’s life many different negative things are taken from that one’s life with it, such as