Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Yesterday, I talked about Post Traumatic Stress.  If you have ever had it, you already know what it is, but if you haven't experienced it for yourself, it might be hard for you to understand ...


What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that's triggered by your memories of a traumatic event — an event that directly affected you or an event that you witnessed.

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may develop following exposure to extreme trauma.
• Extreme trauma is a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is life-threatening or causes physical harm. It can be a single event or repeated experience.
• The experience causes that person to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness.
• The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including mental, emotional and physical well-being.
• Research suggests that prolonged trauma may disrupt and alter brain chemistry. For some people, this may lead to the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The disorder commonly affects survivors of traumatic events, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, physical assault, war, torture, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, an airplane crash, a hostage situation or a death camp. Post traumatic stress disorder also can affect rescue workers at the site of an airplane crash or a mass shooting. It can affect someone who witnessed a tragic accident.


Why Should we learn About Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Not everyone involved in a traumatic event experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the disorder affects more than 5 million adults each year in the United States. You or someone you know may experience trauma at some time in your life!  Learning about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can help you: Cope with Trauma and / or help others.

Signs and symptoms

Signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder typically appear within three months of the traumatic event. However, in some instances, they may not occur until years after the event and may include: 

• Anxiety
• Anger 
• Avoiding anything that reminds the survivor of the incident  (those reminders can be thoughts, feelings, activities, places, people, songs or movies, even colors that might remind you of what happened) 
• Physiological reactions to situations that remind you of the traumatic event ... may include an increase in blood pressure, a rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea and diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Recurrent memories, or flashbacks of the trauma
• Distress at anniversaries of the trauma 
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating or focusing
• Feeling numb
• Hyper-vigilance (feeling "on guard" all the time)
• Survivor guilt
• Lack of interest in family, friends or hobbies - feeling detached 
• Nightmares
• Jumpiness (especially at loud or sudden noises)
• Restlessness
• They may also suffer from depression, blame themselves or become suicidal
• Overwhelming emotions
• Hopelessness about the future 
• Feeling as though they are "going crazy"
• Fear "something bad" will happen
• Difficulty sleeping

(The info above is from a booklet about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder put out by Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, Tennessee)


Who's at risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Those who can be effected by PTSD include:

• Anyone who has been victimized or has witnessed a violent act or who has been repeatedly exposed to a life-threatening situation.
• Survivors of:
• Car accidents or fires
• Natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes
• Major Catastrophic events such as a plane crash or terrorist act
• Disasters caused by human error such as industrial accidents 
• Survivors of unexpected events in everyday life:
• Children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused or adults who were abused as children
• Combat veterans or civilian victims of war
• Those diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or who have undergone invasive medical procedures
• Professionals who respond to victims in traumasituations such as emergency medical service workers, police, firefighters, military, and search and rescue workers
• People who learn of the sudden, unexpected death of a close friend or relative
  

Risk factors

The severity of the traumatic event and how long the event lasted appear to be factors in the development of this disorder. Other factors that may increase the likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder include:

• A previous history of depression or other emotional disorder
• A previous history of physical or sexual abuse
• A family history of anxiety
• Early separation from parents
• Being part of a dysfunctional family
• Alcohol abuse
• Drug abuse
  

When to seek medical advice?

It's normal to undergo a wide range of feelings and emotions after a traumatic event. The feelings you experience may include fear and anxiety, a lack of focus, sadness, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, or bouts of crying that come easily. You may have recurrent thoughts or nightmares about the event. If you have these disturbing feelings for more than a month, if they're severe or if you feel you're having trouble getting your life back under control, consider seeing your doctor or a mental health professional.

Screening and diagnosis

Your doctor or mental health professional likely will ask you to describe the signs and symptoms you're experiencing — what they are, when they occur, how intense they are and how long they last. This will help your doctor or therapist learn more about your condition. Your doctor may also ask you to describe the event that triggered your symptoms to try to get a sense of how intense the event was and how itaffected you. You may encounter some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after a traumatic event, but you may not necessarily have a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. Diagnosing the condition requires that the symptoms be present longer than one month.

Complications

Having post-traumatic stress disorder may place you at higher risk for:

• Depression, which has many of the same signs and symptoms as post-traumatic stress disorder
• Drug abuse
• Alcohol abuse
• Eating disorders
• Divorce
  

Treatment

Your doctor or a mental health professional may suggest a combination of medications and behavior therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The objectives of treatment are to reduce your emotional distress and the associated disturbances to your sleep and daily functioning, and to help you better cope with the event that triggered the disorder.

Coping skills

If distress caused by a past traumatic event persistently affects your life, seeing your doctor is a necessary first step along a course of professional treatment.

But you can take actions to help yourself cope:

• Follow your doctor's instructions carefully. Although it may take a while to feel the effects of therapy, hang in there. You'll be better off in the long run.
• Take care of yourself. Get enough rest, eat a balanced diet, exercise, and take time to relax. Avoid caffeine and nicotine, which can worsen anxiety. Don't turn to alcohol or un-prescribed drugs for relief.
• Break the cycle. When you feel anxious, take a brisk walk or delve into a hobby to refocus.
• Talk to someone. Share your problems with a friend or counselor who can help you gain perspective. Ask your doctor about support groups in your area for people who have post-traumatic stress disorder.
  

Recovery Takes Time

Survivors recover in stages.  They may start with one stage, go to another, and go back.  Each person processes the event his or her own way. 

PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, but some people don't experience symptoms until months, even years, later. PTSD can last six months for some people while others may experience symptoms for much longer. Again, it is important to understand that people respond differently to trauma. Some people will have a few problems, and these problems may go away without treatment. Others will need support and some kind of treatment before they can move forward with their lives.
 

Here are some stages a survivor might go through:

1. Denial that the trauma had any effect on their lives. 
2. Fear it will happen again. 
3. Feel sad because of a loss of their ability to trust in people, or places. 
4. Anger at what happened. 
5. Anxiety over the nightmares or flashbacks that may intrude on the life of the survivor. 
6. Feel as if a part of themselves died during the trauma.
   

There are some things in life that we just can't control.  Car accidents, fires, natural disasters, criminals who would make us their next victim.  We can control what we do after we have been hurt.  We can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get help.  We can take care of ourselves.  We can take as much time as we need to recover and heal because the results have to last the rest of our lives!  

If you or a loved one has experienced extreme trauma and are still suffering, do whatever you have to ... Take Care Of YOU!