Smoking and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

In today 's society, it has become prevalent that the amount of individuals suffering from mental illnesses is rapidly increasing. This paper will focus on one of the disorders associated with mental illness – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The introduction will define and describe the disorder, and the following paragraphs will discuss causes, symptoms, target populations, treatments, and theory. PTSD affects people of all ages in all walks of life. It has a debilitating effect on its victims, and studies are still being conducted to further explore its impact.

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

Many of the veterans experience a multitude of issues linked to PTSD. Some of these can include depression, employment, increase demands on healthcare services, and social impairment. Physical health issues associated with PTSD can include respiratory, hypertension, skin, hearing and deafness, stomach, urinary and even musculoskeletal complications (Benyamini and Solomon, 2005:1271; Boscarino, 2006:253-254; Hoge, et al., 2006:1023; O’Toole and Catts, 2008:34). A number of soldiers in these studies reported an increase in substance abuse. This misuse of substances is either through alcohol, cigarettes, prescription medications, or other drugs (Benyamini and Solomon, 2005:1268; Browne et al., 2008:628; Hanwella, et al., 2014:4-6; Smith, et

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has several aspects that distinguish it from other anxiety disorders. As much as some of the symptoms may occur in cases of other anxiety disorders, the major symptoms of PTSD are known to persist for a period exceeding one month. Another distinctive characteristic of PTSD from other anxiety disorders is that it leads to intense clinically significant depression. The distress caused by PTSD is distinguishable in that it impairs the patient’s general way of life like social life, work output, as well as other major constituents of a normal life.

One of the biggest obstacles in treating PTSD is the high prevalence of co-morbidities. Co-morbidity is the presence of two or more chronic diseases or conditions in a patient. “A study conducted in Australia found that at least half of the people with PTSD have moderate depression, while generalized anxiety disorder was present in a 40% of men and 22% of women sufferers. (Wright, 2014).” This study also found a close link between PTSD patients and substance abuse; it was found that over 30% of people who suffer from PTSD also suffer from substance abuse. (Wright, 2014)

PTSD or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a growing concern with our returning soldiers. As technology is advancing, battles are becoming more and more gruesome. The scars from defending your country are not only physical. Some scars may not be visible, but are even more dangerous. The trauma imbedded in these men and women’s heads will cause pain for them and their entire family.

According to the lecture and corroborating literature, nicotine addiction is one of the strongest addictions. Nicotine has

Posttraumatic stress disorder is caused by "exposure to a traumatic stressor or bearing witness to such an event" (Peterson, Luethcke, Borah, Borah, & Young-McCaughan, 2011, p. 166). Patients cannot develop PTSD without this exposure. Risk factors for a client 's development of combat-related PTSD can be divided into three main categories: the trauma 's type and severity, the individual 's factors, such as age, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric and previous history, and external environmental factors (Peterson, et al.,

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now believed to be a common condition for many active military and veterans who have experienced direct combat. PTSD symptoms can last a lifetime, and are particularly troubling for those veterans from the Vietnam War who have struggled for years to get help (Daniels, Boehnlein, & McCallion, 2015). Bergman, Przeworski &Feeny (2017) note that active military personnel and veterans constitute about half of the overall population, but have a disproportionate number of mental health problems including instances of PTSD. The authors also observe that “ many military veterans and service members may experience symptoms of psychological disorders as well as impairment related to these symptoms, but may

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be defined as “ a complex disorder in which a person’s memory, emotional responses, intellectual process, and nervous system have been disrupted by one or more traumatic experiences”(Swan & Persis, 2016). It is trauma and stressor related, a disorder that depends on a factor outside a person. Types of events that can lead to the development of PTSD include physical assault, rape and sexual assault, military combat, torture, mass violence, natural disasters, transportation or workplace disasters, explosions and fires, life-threatening epidemics and radiation. Repeated traumas or being exposed to long duration of traumas may also cause symptoms of PTSD. There are biochemical, physiologic, sociocultural, together with occupational factors and personal variables involved in the development of PTSD (Swan & Persis, 2016). Health risks associated with PTSD include cardiovascular, digestive musculoskeletal and respiratory disorders. Also cancer, infectious diseases, suicide, homicide and drug overdose (Heavey, 2014).

I understand the appeal of smoking as an easy, momentous fix to a person's mood because of the instant result to feel better. Stressed? Smoke a cigarette. Frustrated? Smoke a cigarette. Unhappy? Smoke a cigarette. Nicotine acts on nicotinic cholinergic receptors that triggers the release of neurotransmitters that produce rewarding psychoactive effects. Vani and Shyamaladevi explain, the functional antagonism presented in cigarette smoking is related to desensitization of nicotinic cholinergic receptors because nicotine in cigarette smoke upregulates the nicotinic cholinergic receptors to interact with the noradrenergic, cannabinoid, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and serotonergic systems and increases the levels of norepinephrine, dopamine,

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

Mental diseases and disorders have been around since humans have been inhabiting earth. The field of science tasked with diagnosing and treating these disorders is something that is always evolving. One of the most prevalent disorders in our society but has only recently been acknowledged is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Proper and professional diagnosis and definitions of PTSD was first introduced by the American Psychiatric Association(APA) in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-III) in 1980 (Friedman, 2016). The introduction of PTSD into the DSM-III was a step forward to helping victims of traumatic experiences. To be able to help people cope with these traumatizing experiences

The impacts of PTSD are many, ranging from medical and psychiatric co-morbidity to financial societal costs and functional impairment that can affect a person’s ability to complete their daily work. There are high rates of documented psychiatric comorbidity in populations with PTSD (Kessler, 2000). Those with PTSD were much more likely to develop a secondary psychiatric disorder than those without PTSD. The most highly correlated secondary disorders were anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders (Kessler, 2000). Interestingly, Kessler (2000) also found that when PTSD was found to be in remission, the risk for secondary disorders disappeared. These findings are important because it helps show that the development of a secondary disorder is

This paper discusses the long-term effects of using nicotine effects on brain social implications and gives details about death rates among people who use tobacco. According to research, nicotine produces mood-altering effects in a person’s brain which are temporally pleasing.