Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life.

PTSD, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. Most survivors of trauma return to normal given a little time. However, some people will have stress reactions that do not go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals may develop PTSD. People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person’s daily life.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder? When most people think of the term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they think of war and returning soldiers. Even though this is true, post-traumatic stress disorder does not only develop in soldier’s returning from war. When you look at the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you will see that it is a mental health condition that is triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. This means that post-traumatic stress disorder can be developed after any traumatic event or experience that one has gone through.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric sequel to a stressful event or situation of an exceptionally threatening or catastrophic nature. It develops after a person is involved in a horrifying ordeal that involved physical maltreatment or the threat of physical harm. These events can include combat or military experience, abuse during childhood or adulthood (physical or sexual), terrorist attacks, serious accidents or natural disasters. This person may have been the one that was harmed, witnessed a harmful event or had a loved one who was harmed. It is normal for the body’s fight or flight mechanism to engage in times of danger. With a person who has PTSD, that mechanism is damaged and the person feels this even when they are not in danger. Symptoms can be categorized into four different areas – re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts) , avoiding situations that remind the person of the event, negative changes in beliefs and feelings (may be fear, guilt, shame or losing interest in those activities that once were enjoyable) and hypervigilence (always feeling keyed up, trouble concentrating or sleeping). There are also feelings of hopelessness, despair, depression or anxiety, alcohol or substance abuse, physical symptoms or chronic pain and problems with employment and relationships.

The symptoms of PTSD, while generally not life threatening, can be very distressing and have serious effects on a person’s health and well-being. There are three classes of symptoms related to PTSD, re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyperarousal symptoms. The re-experiencing symptoms are generally flashbacks, bad dreams and frightening thoughts. These symptoms are produced from the persons own thoughts and can be triggered by anything reminding them of the experience. The second classification of symptoms are called the avoidance symptoms and they include staying away from places and other objects that remind the person of the experience, as well as feeling strong guilt, depression, worry, emotional numbness, and a loss of interest in the world around you. The final classification, hyperarousal symptoms, includes being easily startled, feeling tense, having angry outbursts, and insomnia. These symptoms are

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.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is brushing through the lives of individuals like a plague. It is an high risk illness that has negative impacts to a great degree, however once in a while goes untreated on account of the lack of awareness of specific people. Some believe it is a "fake" illness and is not a reality, but rather it is a reality, a dull reality that effects the lives of numerous people and even ruins groups and families. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an emotional sickness. As per the Mayo Clinic (2006), "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological well-being condition that is activated by a frightening occasion. Side effects may incorporate flashbacks, bad dreams and terrible anxiety, and wild thoughts or

What is PTSD? According to Goldenson, he defines Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as “an anxiety disorder produced by an extremely stressful event(s) (e.g., assault, rape, military combat, death camp) and characterized by a number of adverse reactions: (a)re-experiencing the trauma in painful recollection or recurrent dreams; (b) diminished responsiveness (numbing), which disinterest in significant activities and with feeling of detachment and estrangement from others; and (c) symptoms such as exaggerating startle response, disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, guilt about surviving when others did not, and avoidance of activates that call the traumatic event to mind” (as cited in Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin, 2011). Throughout the eras of war, we are seeing more reports of PTSD within the military. In

The question that some may ask is- what is PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder. Well “PTSD is one of the most common mental health conditions” in the United States (Charles, 2013). There are two different types of PTSD, civilian PTSD and combat PTSD. Civilian PTSD is when someone witnesses or is a part of a tragic event. These events can include a natural disaster, living through a violent act or neglect; experience a sudden death of someone close and witnessing or being in a tragic accident or event, such as a car accident or 9/11. Combat PTSD is different but is similar than civilian

Formerly seen in individuals from combat, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now seen in civilians following traumatic events, ranging from violence, accidents, serious injury and life threatening illness (Association, 2000). PTSD has debilitating psycho-emotional and psychobiological effects, which can impair an individual’s daily life and can be life threatening. Consequently, individuals with PTSD often experience difficulties in maintaining relationships, which often leads to “occupational instability, martial problems and divorces, and family dispute and difficulties in parenting” (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). In some cases, PTSD can be severe enough to hinder the individual’s daily life and can lead to suicidal tendencies (Iribarren et al., 2005). Having this knowledge, PTSD is marked as a psychiatric disorder and has been identified as comorbid with other disorders, such as major depressive disorder (Oquendo et al., 2005). According to recent statistics, the National Center for PTSD estimated that 7.8% of the U.S. population would suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely than men (5%) (Iribarren et al., 2005; Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995). However, given the worldwide turmoil, it is possible the numbers will increase and may even become a significant health concern of this century, since PTSD symptoms rarely disappear completely. Recovery from PTSD can elicit more stress, since it

Symptoms of PTSD may begin within three months of the traumatic event, or sometimes, within years. Most noticeable symptoms of PTSD include intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, or changes in emotional reactions, according to Mayo Clinic. Intrusive memories include recurring and

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition caused by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event. It has been known to affect mostly war veterans but has also affected people who are not veterans. Rape victims and people who have suffered severe abuse have also been diagnosed with PTSD. In most cases, veterans have a higher percentage than others.

There are three symptoms a patient must exemplify to be diagnosed with PTSD. These symptoms are re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyper-vigilance. Re-experiencing symptoms are where the PTSD patient will relive the traumatic event through flashbacks, nightmares and memories. A certain sight, smell, sound, or feeling the person gets at a random point throughout their day that could remind them of the traumatic experience is what can tigger these helpless reoccurrences. Some flashbacks can be so extreme that the person loses all their senses and only can see, hear, or smell what they felt at the time of the accident. They are no longer aware of the real world and cannot tell the difference of what is real and what is not (Thomas )

These symptoms can come right after the tragic event; however, a lot of times symptoms will take several months to years to manifest themselves (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2016). According to the fifth edition of the DSM, a person must meet the four clusters of intrusive behavior, repetitive avoidance of events that can be related to the event, a negative impact on cognitive ability, and a noticeable change in arousal or reactions. These four clusters must cause significant difficulty or impairment within the persons normal lifestyle. They must also show symptoms lasting for over a month to be considered for diagnosis of PTSD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Another new topic of discussion with diagnosis of PTSD is whether a new category should be created for people who were exposed to repeated traumatic experiences over a long duration. Dr. Judith Herman from Harvard University insists that a new diagnosis be created for this Complex PTSD. The person diagnosed with Complex PTSD has all the same symptoms of regular PTSD; however, it also includes more severe symptoms such as their personal view of themselves can be altered. These can be brought on by child prostitution rings, or Prisoner of War camps. These symptoms can also lead the individual to feel helpless which then can lead to becoming depressed. The trauma’s faced by somebody can lead to depression and a study of

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that occurs following a traumatic experience. PTSD happens to seven-point eight percent of Americans at some point in their lives. With women, twice as likely as men to develop. That equals out to be forty-four -point seven million people struggling with PTSD. Not only a soldier returning home from war experiences PTSD. Any person that has experienced a traumatic situation can have the potential of experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Such as, experiencing a natural disaster, a serious accident, a life-threatening illness, physical abuse, sexual assault during childhood or adulthood or any other situation that invokes feelings of helplessness or intense fear. PTSD can be caused by several ways, from genetics to a person’s environmental history of traumatic events. No matter how it is caused, it has a crippling effect on a person.