Post Traumatic Stress Dissorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, abbreviated as PTSD is an anxiety disorder that disrupts an individual’s memory, emotions, intellect as well as nervous response usually as a result of an extremely frightening, life threatening traumatic experience on oneself or another person usually. The experience may be harming physically or psychologically causing an interference with ones ability to cope with experiences that resemble the original trauma.

The major symptoms characterizing PTSD include; anxiety and extreme fear occurring when the person experiences events that resemble the original trauma. Exposure to the trauma usually triggers a lot of fear, terror and a sense of helplessness leading to the individual suffering major depression. Another symptom is recurring flashback memories of the traumatic experience that sometimes occur as nightmares or disturbing daydreams. These traumatic memories usually result from trigger by stimuli that bring semblance of a traumatizing experience, or “take the form of imagery or sensation that arouse the traumatic memories” (Downing 3).

A person who suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder also exhibits strange behavior like avoidance of certain events, locations or even anything that is deemed to bring back memories or trigger semblance of the original traumatic experience. As the patient tries to avoid such circumstances, they manifest as antisocial behavior where they avoid people and certain places as well as suffer a sense of memory loss as they numb their ability to remember the painful traumatic event. A major symptom amongst patients of PTSD is a heightened sense of alertness and hyper aroused response to endangering experiences. These manifests as over-protectiveness of those they l...

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...the aggression, flashbacks and emotional numbing, Antipsychotics which treat social dissociation as well as moodiness and irritability, to mention but a few (123).

While there has not been found a treatment intervention that completely cures PTSD, statics show that combining medication and psychotherapy has been useful in reducing the negative emotions. Victims are counseled and offered support, which also encourages them to keep taking medication thereby increasing the chances of suppressing the symptoms.

Works Cited

Downing, Rachel. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Enoch Pratt Health System 2.3, (2007): 1- 2. Web.

Frey, Rebecca. “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.” Mental Disorders 12.2, (2008): 1-3. Print.

Herman, Judith. Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books, 1997. Print.

Wade Carole, and Carol Tavris. Psychology. Tenth Edition Textbook Print.