Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a real mental illness that needs to be taken more seriously. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD is a mental illness that can develop with people who have experienced a traumatic event in their lives. There are some people that believe PTSD is not a real illness, and that it is an excuse for someone’s behavior. That idea is incorrect. PTSD can severely affect the way a person lives in a real way. In a Harvard Mental Health Letter, Richard Famularo; MD and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry stated, “Like adult PTSD, the childhood form is a severe and debilitating mental illness.” (8) PTSD does not hold prejudice against race, gender or age. It can happen to anyone. Currently “PTSD affects about 7.7 million American adults, but it can occur at any age, including childhood.” This is a startling fact.
For a lot of people they just don’t understand what PTSD really is. If someone doesn’t know what PTSD is, how can they understand it? PTSD is an anxiety disorder that’s symptoms can range widely, but to summarize the US Department of Veterans Affairs website, if you have PTSD you could expect flash backs of the traumatic event, racing heart, startled feeling or jitteriness, or feeling numb to the world and situations around you. They also talk about avoiding places and people that remind you of the trauma you were faced with. To break it down more The National Institute of Mental Health categorizes PTSD symptoms into three groups. These three groups are called re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyperarousal symptoms. If you have symptoms in the category of re-experiencing symptoms, you could have nightmares, sweating, and flashback where you experience ...
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... All of these play an important part in the development of PTSD.
In all seriousness the name Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a new name for an old story. I reiterate that in World War I it was known as Shell Shock. It was called this because it was believed the impact of the shells produced a concussion that disrupted the physiology of the brain. At first the idea of shell shock was only the weak minded get it, but then in World War II doctors realized the problem was more severe than they had thought. They renamed shell shock to “battle or combat fatigue.” You can see with the name itself they still didn’t take it too seriously. The word fatigue suggests that just a little rest and T.L.C will back everything better. That’s not the case with PTSD. It’s not like a goodnights rest will make you your old self again. There is not a Band-Aid or magic pill to cure it.
PTSD is a battle for everyone who is diagnosed and for the people close to them. The only way to fight and win a battle is to understand what one is fighting. One must understand PTSD if he or she hopes to be cured of it. According to the help guide, “A positive way to cope with PTSD is to learn about trauma and PTSD”(Smith and Segal). When a person knows what is going on in his or her body, it could give them better control over their condition. One the many symptoms of PTSD is the feeling of helplessness, yet, knowing the symptoms might give someone a better sense of understanding. Being in the driver’s seat of the disorder, can help recognize and avoid triggers. Triggers could be a smell, an image, a sound, or anything that could cause an individual to have a flashback of the intimidating event. Furthermore, knowing symptoms of PTSD could, as well, help one in recovering from the syndrome. For instance, a person could be getting wor...
PTSD occurs after experiencing traumatic events and prolonged periods of emotional distress. A traumatic event is something that a person experiences that causes them to feel like their lives, or the lives of others, are in immediate danger. If after traumatic events such feelings of fear or complete loss of control do not subside and cause disruptions in a person's everyday life PTSD may occur. Such traumatic events may include: Combat in a war zone, sexual or physical abuse or assault, major accidents, or natural disasters. There are four main symptoms used to identify PTSD: Reliving the traumatic event, which can include nightmares and flashbacks. Avoiding people or situations that could remind one of the event. Negative changes in a persons thoughts or feelings, such as fear, guilt, shame or loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. Lastly, hyperarousal, feeling jittery, alert and on the look for danger along with trouble sleeping or focusing. (National Center For PTSD). People suffering from Ptsd may also encounter problems with depression and anxiety along with relationship problems, physical symptoms, and drug and alcohol problems.
It is important to understand when discussing this topic what exactly Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is, and how one obtains it. When someone has PTSD, their sense of fear and stress are tampered with; even when not in danger, the person with the disorder may feel as though they are. It is as if the victims are suffering from delayed trauma. Several risk factors can lead to this: experiences with dangerous events/traumas, history of mental illness, physical pain, witnessing the injuries/deaths of others, feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear, little to no support after the trigger event, experiencing extra stress after the event...
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is when an individual has difficulty recovering from a traumatic event. PTSD is common in The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien. because it took place during the Vietnam war. We can recognize a few characters from the story that have PTSD are the following: Mary Anne, Dave Jensen and Norman Bowker.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that develops after exposure to an event that is perceived to be life threatening or pose serious bodily injury to self or others (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011). According
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
PTSD is defined as mental health disorder triggered by a terrifying event (Mayoclinic). This ordeal could be the result of some sort of physical harm or threat to the individual, family members, friends or even strangers. (NIMH) While PTSD is typically associated with someone who has served in the military, it can affect more than just that genre of individuals. It could affect rape victims, victims in a terrorist or natural disaster incident, nurses, doctors, and police and fire personnel and bystanders. PTSD can manifest itself in many forms. The primary signs and symptoms of PTSD include but are not limited to re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts), avoidance of places, situations, or events that may cause those memories to resurface, and hyperarousal symptoms (easily startled, feeling tense or on edge) (NIMH). Other symptoms may include not having positive or loving feelings toward other people, staying away from relationships, may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them, may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.
What is post-traumatic stress disorder? Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a disorder that is characterized by the repeated experiencing or “reliving” of a traumatic event. With this disorder, the sufferer will also experience extreme emotional, mental, and physical distress. Recurrent nightmares, memories of the event, and vivid flashbacks are very likely too. (Wagman 915). PTSD wasn’t recognized as an illness until the 1980s, but it has been around as long as men have been killing one another (McGirk). Before PTSD was given its official name, many different names floated around within the whole entire world. In 1678, Swiss soldiers identified the disorder as nostalgia while German soldie...
PTSD is a debilitating mental illness that occurs when someone is exposed to a traumatic, dangerous, frightening, or a possibly life-threating occurrence. “It is an anxiety disorder that can interfere with your relationships, your work, and your social life.” (Muscari, pp. 3-7) Trauma affects everyone in different ways. Everyone feels wide ranges of emotions after going through or witnessing a traumatic event, fear, sadness and depression, it can cause changes in your everyday life as in your sleep and eating patterns. Some people experience reoccurring thoughts and nightmares about the event.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real mental illness that needs to be taken more seriously. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental illness that can develop with people who have experienced a traumatic event in their lives. There are some people that believe PTSD is not a real illness, and that it is an excuse for someone’s behavior. That idea is incorrect. PTSD can severely affect the way a person lives in a real way. It is not a disability that is new to society however it has been recently acknowledged. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology states, “Post-traumatic stress disorder has been classified as an anxiety disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1980.” (505).
PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety disorder. It affects people that have experienced, witnessed, or were confronted with a life threatening event. It can cause flashbacks, depression, nightmares, and change of mood. Other common symptoms of PTSD are difficulty sleeping, anger outbursts, decreased interest in activities, avoidance of people and places that can trigger a memory, and inability to recall part of the trauma. Symptoms can occur right after the incident but also much later in life. Other common occurrences with PTSD are depression, suicide, and alcohol or drug abuse (FAQs about PTSD).
Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after one has been a victim or witness of a traumatic event (What is PTSD). Men and women who served in the Vietnam War were vulnerable to many acts of violence and death such as guerilla warfare. After being discharged from the Armed Forces, they may experience flashbacks when a trigger brings back a memory or they may also suffer from nightmares or insomnia due to specific rattling experiences (Riley, Julie). Not being able to sleep can have some deteriorating effects on the body which can make life after war very hard to adjust to. The transfer of the Armed Forces back home life can be somewhat of a culture shock. However, anyone can develop PTSD. A person who has been a victim of abuse, an unexpected death/accident, or even a survivor of a natural disaster is at risk of being diagnosed with this disorder (Mental Health America). They may experience some symptoms of; depression, irritability, insomnia, flashbacks, they may complain of headaches or stomach pain, and may become reserved (Riley, Julie). These indicatio...
Treatments for PTSD cannot erase your memory of those events,” (Tull) and, “That said, it is important to remember that symptoms of PTSD can come back again” (Tull). Even though it cannot be cured, it can be treated effectively with treatment. According to mayoclinc.org, “The primary treatment is psychotherapy, but often includes medication” (None). With the help of psychotherapy and medication, people who suffer from PTSD can begin to regain their life from anxiety and
... event and tend to be emotionally numb” (Anxiety Disorders). PTSD leads to flashbacks and behavioral changes to try to avoid anything that might remind the affected individual of the traumatic experience.