P - PTSD #AtoZ #MentalHealthAwareness

PTSD has been known by many names in the past, such as “shell shock” during the years of World War I and “combat fatigue” after World War II. Women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.

People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.

PTSD is probably caused by a complex mix of:

• ·         Stressful experiences, including the amount and severity of trauma you've gone through in your life
• ·         Inherited mental health risks, such as a family history of anxiety and depression
• ·         Inherited features of your personality — often called your temperament
• ·         The way your brain regulates the chemicals and hormones your body releases in response to stress

A diagnosis of PTSD requires exposure to an upsetting traumatic event. However, exposure could be indirect rather than first hand. For example, PTSD could occur in an individual learning about the violent death of a close family. It can also occur as a result of repeated exposure to horrible details of trauma such as police officers exposed to details of child abuse cases.

Symptoms of PTSD fall into four categories. Specific symptoms can vary in severity.

• ·         Intrusive thoughts such as repeated, involuntary memories; distressing dreams; or flashbacks of the traumatic event.
• ·         Avoiding reminders of the traumatic event may include avoiding people, places, activities, objects and situations that bring on distressing memories. People may try to avoid remembering or thinking about the traumatic event.
• ·         Negative thoughts and feelings may include on-going and distorted beliefs about oneself or others, much less interest in activities previously enjoyed; or feeling detached or estranged from others.
• ·         Arousal and reactive symptoms may include being irritable and having angry outbursts; behaving recklessly or in a self-destructive way; being easily startled; or having problems concentrating or sleeping.

Trauma affects school-aged children and teenagers differently than adults. If diagnosed with PTSD, the symptoms in children and teens can also look different.

On the anniversary of a traumatic event, some survivors have an increase in distress. These "anniversary reactions" can range from feeling mildly upset for a day or two to a more extreme reaction with more severe mental health or medical symptoms.

Trauma-focused psychotherapies are the most highly recommended type of treatment for PTSD. "Trauma-focused" means that the treatment focuses on the memory of the traumatic event or its meaning.

These treatments use different techniques to help you process your traumatic experience. Some involve visualizing, talking, or thinking about the traumatic memory. Others focus on changing unhelpful beliefs about the trauma.

DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health professional.

References:

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/

 This post is a part of April Blogging from A To Z Challenge

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