PTSD Research Paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) destroys many lives. PTSD is a mental illness in which an individual experiences a terrifying event such as a severe injury or psychological shock. A person who suffers from PTSD has a disruption of sleep patterns, constant intense recall of the experiences, and neglect communication with others in their environment. Depending on the treatment, this mental illness can be hard to treat, and the process may be rigorous upon the person who suffers from PTSD. The current treatments for PTSD cannot cure the horrors of war but can help child soldiers mentally, physically, and psychologically. According to Christophe Pierre Bayer, 250,000 children are being abused as child soldiers (Bayer 2). A twelve-year-old

This is the start of PTSD and will soon bring problems to these children. There are many things that can lead up to PTSD, which is war, rape, kidnapping, and sudden death of a loved one and more (Smith, Robinson, and Segal 1). PTSD do not come from being in war alone it can come from any event that produces trauma and leaves a big impact on their life. Smith, Melinda, Lawrence, and Jeanne Seagal stated that, PTSD could take up to weeks, months, or even years before they appear. PTSD has many signs and symptoms that come along with this psychological disorder. The most common symptoms and signs of PTSD are flashbacks, nightmares, hyperventilation, and suicidal thoughts. When a person experiences a flashback they feel as if the trauma is happening again and when nightmares occur its about the things that they have done wrong (Smith, Lawrence, and Segal). Sometimes people feel lonely, unhappy, and guilty for what they have done. These symptoms will cause people to want to give up and commit suicide because they have nothing in life to live for. Many child soldiers have lost everything and have no one to turn to for guidance. Child soldiers do not

There are many different type of treatment for PTSD. For example, Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, medication, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (Smith, Robinson, and Segal). These treatments help PTSD patients deal with the problems that they go through and the medication that they are given relieves depression or anxiety that they might have. The main problem for PTSD is that there are no medications to treat the causes of PTSD (Smith, Robinson, and Segal). Other treatment that the patients can do on their own is focusing on your body, spend time with nature, avoid alcohol and drugs, getting enough sleep, or connecting with other people (Smith, Robinson, and Segal). It is very important for PTSD patients to find a therapist that will be willing to work with them. The therapist must be patient and understand what they are going though. Also, the patients’ love ones needs to do the same by being there for them. They do not need to pressure their love ones into talking to them about what they have been through because its very hard on a person with PTSD to talk about their problems. If a person with PTSD decided to talk about their events it will probably make their experiences come back to their mind and make the situation worse. PTSD can only be controlled under therapy. That’s why it’s best for a therapist to handle a therapy event in order to control