Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

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.

PTSD can affect people in different ways due to the circumstance they went through, for example, “a young woman gets mugged and hit over the head with a pipe. Years later, she is still afraid to go out at night by herself. She has trouble making friends and she is slow to trust people. She has gotten several warnings at work for missing days; sometimes she just can’t seem to get out of bed. A former soldier, when he finally sleeps, finds himself back on the dusty roads of Afghanistan. He awakes in a panic and struggles futilely to return to sleep. Days are hardly better. The rumble of garbage trucks shatters his nerves. Flashbacks come unexpectedly, at the whiff of certain cleaning chemicals. He is imprisoned in his own mind” (Brainline,

For more than twenty years, Patricia Dietz, a wife of a Vietnam veteran, has suffered along with her husband the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. She has stated that, "It has changed everything; it has affected the rest of his and her life." Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is when a person is haunted by his memories so badly that it affects not only the rest of his life, but others close to him as well.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an illness that is extremely hard to treat. With a multitude of symptoms such as agitation, severe anxiety, guilt, and self-destructive behavior, each diagnosis is unique therefore treatment must be specialized. The most common way to diagnose someone with PTSD is through an in depth screening process

There is often an expectation that someone who has survived a traumatic event would be happy for being alive. But there are those who have gone through a traumatic event and have developed a condition known as survivor’s guilt and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and are actually unhappy or depressed that they survived. This condition not only affects the survivors, but those around them as well.

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.

Intro: There are almost two and a half million Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF ), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) veterans in the United States (DoD, 2014). Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are signature wounds of these military operations, and are commonly referred to as “invisible wounds of war” (Tanielian et al 2008, from bello have another?-). OEF, OIF, and OND consisted of the longest and most frequent deployments in U.S. History with forty-eight percent of veterans having served at least two deployments (DoD, 2013). Children’s and non-deployed parent’s ability to cope and adapt to the deployment decreases as the length and frequency of deployments increase (Chandra, Martin, Hawkins, & Richardson, 2010; Lester et al., 2010). Children 's and partner 's stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression increase as the length of their loved one 's deployment increases (Gorman, Blow, Ames, & Reed, 2011; Mansfield, Kaufman, Engel, & Gaynes, 2011; Lester et al, 2010). Support from within the military branches, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, extended family, health care providers, schools, and other social infrastructues/institutions within the community is critical for healthy family functioning and the future of military-connected children (MC).

The main symptom of PTSD is reliving the traumatic experience through flashbacks and nightmares. Other symptoms include soldiers avoiding situations, people or conversations that would remind them of the trauma. They tend to avoid memories by becoming numb, distant, or stop showing love towards others. Which is extremely tough on the families and friends. Hobbies, such as sports, that may have been a favorite activity before, may not be compelling anymore. The person may also show signs

Since September 1, 2001, America has been involved in warfare in the Middle East with over 2.2 million men and women serving in combat zones experiencing more tours, higher levels of perceived risk and more cultural integration within ranks than ever seen in history (Crocker, Powell-Cope, Brown & Besterman-Dahan, 2014). According to Clark-Hitt, Smith and Broderick (2012) 14% of returning veterans are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which they define as “an anxiety disorder that may occur following exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened”. In a military setting these events could consist of an environment of repeated bombing or threat of death, watching a comrade die, killing another human-being, even witnessing immoral violence on a daily basis. According to work done by Polusny et al. (2008) exposure to traumatic events can be a contributor to the perception of a lesser health status, an increase in physical health illness and increasing health care utilization and cost. Polusny et al. (2008) focused their research on the relationship between natural disaster trauma and physical health with a finding that natural disasters that produce PTSD symptom clusters do effect an individual’s physical health as well as the health care of the effected community for some time after said disaster. This paper however focuses on PTSD as it pertains to physical symptoms of American soldiers

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder that is developed from witnessing or exposure to traumatic events that is threatening or creates a horrific fear, horror and sense of helplessness in a person. It is common among service men and women, especially those returning from overseas, who have been actively engaged in combat operations overseas.

Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can occur within three months of a traumatic event but in a small number of cases, they may not appear until years after the event. Intrusive memory symptoms are flashbacks and upsetting dreams about the traumatic event or natural disaster. (Staff, Mayo Clinic). People can relive the traumatic event for minutes or even days at a time. According to The PTSD Sourcebook, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual fatigue can be symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder. Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the event, avoiding activities they once enjoyed, hopelessness about the future, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and difficulty maintaining close relationships are all avoidance and emotional numbing symptoms (Staff, Mayo Clinic). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms can come and go, they aren't an everyday thing. Some examples of anxiety and increased emotional arousal symptoms are irritability, overwhelming guilt, self-destructive behavior, being easily startled, and hearing or seeing things that aren't there (Staff, Mayo Clinic). It is normal for victims to have a tough time identifying their feelings. You have to

People have been diagnosed with a disorder that can psychologically and mentally harm them in many ways. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an illness that can harm people mentally and physically (Mayo Clinic). Many people get this disorder because they experienced an emotionally disturbing situation (Mayo Clinic). Doctors can recognize the symptoms if a person has PTSD by diagnosing them and can treat PTSD in many different types of ways. There are historical events with PTSD about doctors realizing that PTSD is a problem and came together to figure out on how to treat PTSD.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger this anxiety include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.