Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Essay

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is “a mental condition that can affect a person who has had a very shocking or difficult experience and that is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, etc.” (Merriam-Webster’s, n.d.) Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur after seeing a dangerous event such as war, hurricanes, car accidents, death of a loved one, and violent crimes. It can affect a victim mind, body, and the people around them. While some mental disorders are genetic, this disorder come from the things that people encounter in life. This paper will discuss the risk factor involved with post-traumatic stress disorder as well as treatments that will help overcome it and future research and approaches to treat this psychiatric illness.

A traumatic event affects many people in various ways. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a globally recognized disorder that is common among persons who have experienced traumatic events, but is also known as a normal response by normal persons in abnormal situations. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can be caused by a multitude of reasons, not just from traumatic events. People with various personality traits can be associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. People who suffer from poor health can also be associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. People who suffer various life occurrences such as rape, natural disasters,

The article, Unbroken: what makes some people more resilient than others, uses the example of Louis Zamperini as shown in the movie, Unbroken, to examine the role of resilience in the ability to recover after a traumatic event. Written by David Cox for The Guardian, the article discusses current research on resilience, and explains how it can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many people experience a severe trauma in their lives, but only a few go on to develop PTSD. For a long time, the focus has been on what makes people more susceptible to developing PTSD. A newer approach to studying stress disorders, as the article establishes, is the study of resilience. Using the example of Louis Zamperini, the article describes an interdisciplinary approach to studying resilience including biological, social, and lifestyle factors.

PTSD is not easily treated. Sometimes people can not only suffer mentally but have physical impairments from the event as well. This can make it hard for them to obtain the treatment they need. A combination of medications and psychotherapy is usually recommended and is the most effect form of treatment for PTSD. The earlier a person seeks treatment for this disorder the better the outcome will be. The medications are used to help people cope with their emotions while the psychotherapy will help

However, the argument that exposure to traumatic event can always result in mental health problems has become controversial because it can stigmatize those who do not believe they have been affected in an adverse manner. Fortunately, only a small percentage of people experience severe enough lose or trauma reactions to meet the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and most people appear to fully recover from any adverse effect within a relatively short period of time, and to successfully overcome potentially traumatic events with little or no disruption in their normal ability to function (Shalev, 2002). Therefore, it is important to note that “the emergence of interest in the concept of resilience comes at the peak of success of the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), serving as a reminder that

Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is sometimes considered to be a relatively new diagnosis, as the name first appeared in 1980, the concept of the disorder has a very long history. That history has often been linked to the history of war, but the disorder has also been frequently described in civilian settings involving natural disasters, mass catastrophes, and serious accidental injuries. The diagnosis first appeared in the official nomenclature when Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-I was published in 1952 under the name gross stress reaction. It was omitted, however, in the next edition in 1968, after a long

Among those who served in the Vietnam War, 84.8% of those diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder still show moderate impairment of symptoms, even 30 plus years after the war (Glover 2014). As of today, the Unites States has 2.8 million veterans who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, of those it is estimated that 11 to 20% currently suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As of 2013, a total of 12,632 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are currently diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Glover 2014). Of course it is to be taken into account that these numbers are based on those who admit to experiencing symptoms and seek treatment.

PTSD is listed among a group called Trauma-and-stressor-Related Disorders. For a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, they must have been exposed to, witness, or experience the details of a traumatic experience (e.g., a first responder), one that involves “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” (APA, 2013, p. 271). (PRU, 2016, p. 66). The aforementioned definition of PTSD relates to soldiers; the manifestations and causes experienced with traditional PTSD can look somewhat different. Obvious causes of PTSD in soldiers stem from exposure to stressful circumstances within combat, exposure to the suffering and death of others, destruction, personal danger, and injury. A study on Vietnam soldiers provides insight on less obvious causes of PTSD. The study suggests

At least 50% of all adults and children are exposed to a psychologically traumatic event (such as a life-threatening assault or accident, humanmade or natural disaster, or war). As many as 67% of trauma survivors experience lasting psychosocial impairment, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); panic, phobic, or generalized anxiety disorders; depression; or substance abuse.(Van der Kolk, et al, 1994) Symptoms of PTSD include persistent involuntary re-experiencing of traumatic distress, emotional numbing and detachment from other people, and hyperarousal (irritability, insomnia, fearfulness, nervous agitation). PTSD is linked to structural neurochemical changes in the central nervous system which may have a direct

The latent class growth model analysis helps identify subgroups of individuals in a population that follow a pattern of change over time on a variable of interest (Andruff 2009, pp. 11). Berntsen and her team found 6 trajectories of PTSD symptoms that consisted of two resilient groups, one new-onset group, and three groups showing temporary benefits of deployment. Majority of the soldiers were in the two resilient groups. The resilience group was negatively related to depression, neuroticism, previous traumatic events, and emotional problems prior to deployment (Berntsen 2012). The new-onset group had the same PTSD symptoms levels as the resilient group. However, there was an increase in return from deployment through the 7 months after return. “A key variable in differentiating the new-onset and the resilient group was the number of previous traumas they had experienced. Traumas involving interpersonal violence in childhood appeared especially central. The three groups that had temporary beneficial effects from deployment showed more emotional problems, depression, PTSD symptoms, and previous traumas before deployment and by being less educated” (Berntsen 2012). This study showed that multiple measurements needed to be taken of one individual to be able to grasp the complexity of the disorder. By doing this, it will be easier to identify individuals in need of treatment.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) added post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to their third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual In 1980. PSTD was popularized as an adversity but since then the psychiatric theory and practice gap has been filled. PTSD was considered a traumatic etiological (individual) occurrence as oppose to a hereditary occurrence (Friedman, 2015). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a health psychology topic that needs to be discussed more than it is. PTSD stems from an event that has taken place in a person’s life such as an act of violence, car accident, or a natural disaster. Experiencing such events as these can have a deep impact on a person’s life. These events can be identified as an isolated

A moment is defined as a brief period of time. (Merriam Webster) The average lifespan of a person consists of 27,375 days, that is 39,420,000 minutes. Within those hundreds of thousands of minutes humans have the opportunity to experience a moment. These experiences can be either good, bad or neutral. A significant moment in my life was the moment I was sexually assaulted. For a long period of time that experience held a negative impact in my life but also taught me that there are too many ongoing experiences to let one moment define the rest.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a widespread disorder that affects certain individuals psychologically, behaviorally, and emotionally following the experience of a traumatic event (Lee et al., 2005, p. 135). However, because of inconsistencies regarding the percentage of individuals who experience PTSD and the percentage of individuals who subsequently develop PTSD, researchers hypothesize that both biological and environmental factors contribute to the development of PTSD (Wolf et al. 2010, p. 328). In order gain a better understanding of this disorder and to discover contributing and predicative factors which contribute to the development of PTSD, this paper analyses the historical context and prevalence of PTSD, the

I chose this topic because I have always been interested in PSTD and what causes PTSD, and how to reduce or cure PTSD. I often feel touched or sad for people who have PTSD and I know some people who have PTSD. For people with PTSD, they often get flashbacks of the trauma incident and then they get angry or scared. I want to help them and hand them my support as I learn how to help them. I have family members who have PTSD and PTSD has definitely impacted/affected their lives. Unfortunately, it should not change their lives, but they do. I would like to help them to change their perspective of how they could live through their PTSD and how they can overcome the fear. I know that it would not be easy to move on with their trauma and it takes a lot of time to put it aside. Some people with PTSD never got therapy sessions to help how to overcome or handle their trauma. Often, the people with PTSD would reject therapy because they do not want someone to know their story or feeling uncomfortable. I would like to learn more about the topic and maybe become a clinical psychologist in one day. I like to help and support people to recover from their issues. I believe that clinical or counseling psychology is a right place to go and ask for support to recover. This is one of the reasons why I would like to focus on the topic.

If someone has a loved one or friend who is struggling or may be on the brink of developing PTSD there are two important key factors that can provide more help in determining if the person has it or not. These factors are called risk and resilience factors and they are able to determine who is more likely to develop PTSD and provide different actions that can be used to reduce the risk of developing PTSD. Some risk factors include living through a dangerous event and trauma, history of mental illness, witnessing the death of a person, the feeling of horror, helplessness, extreme fear, and having little to no social support from family and friends. Some resilience factors include seeking support, support groups, coping strategies, feeling good about one’s own actions in face of danger, and being able to act and respond effectively despite felling fear ( What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 4). These factors are very important and can act as a guide to help anyone who has PTSD and any family or friend who has