Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Going through tough times are a part of life. All of us must cope with challenging situations, like bereavement of conflict in both our professional and personal relationships, and learn to move on.

However, there are times when people experience an event so great and unexpected that it continues to have a serious effect on them, even after a long time has passed.

Individuals who get stuck with these experiences may suffer from flashbacks and nightmares where they somehow re-live the situation that caused them the intense fear and horror.

Some of them become emotionally numb. When this condition goes on for more than a month, it is referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the several psychological conditions that fall under the category of anxiety disorders. This condition affects 1 out of 10 Americans.

It is one of the most common mental health problem experienced by both adults and children everywhere. It could get as worse as not being able to find the way back to living a normal life.

But thanks to modern medicine and technology, treatments are available to help people inflicted with PTSD bring back their balanced lives.

PTSD is usually caused by a psychologically traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury to oneself or others. These triggering events, referred to as “stressors”, may be experienced alone or while in a large group.

A person can have PTSD by experiencing violent personal assault such as rape or mugging, or car or plane accidents; or by seeing another person harmed or killed.

PTSD symptoms usually begins within 3 months of the traumatic event. However, some people with PTSD had symptoms that surfaced many years later. The duration and the intensity of PTSD varies from case to case. Some people are able to recover within 6 months, while some take much longer.

There are several categories of PTSD symptoms. The first one involved re-experiencing the event. This is the main feature of the PTSD and it can manifest in different ways.

Most of the time, the person has a powerful, recurrent memories of the event, or recurrent nightmares and flashbacks where they re-live the distressing experience. The anniversary or the triggering event, or situations that remind them of it can also cause them great discomfort.

Avoidance and emotional numbing make up the second category of symptoms. People with PTSD often avoids encounters with scenarios that remind them of the traumatic event. Emotional numbing generally starts very soon after the trauma.

A person who have PTSD may withdraw from friends and family and may lose interest in activities that they previously enjoyed and have difficulty feeling emotions.

The third category involves changes in sleeping patterns and increased level of alertness. Insomnia is common as well as the ability to concentrate and finish tasks. It can also lead to an increase in the person’s level of aggression.