Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes Symptoms and Effects

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78, 921. Seventy eight thousand, nine hundred and twenty one. This is the number of soldiers wounded or killed in action, received an amputation, or suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. What this number does not include are the 39,365 cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (more commonly known as PTSD). (Department 2009) Although we usually think of war injuries as being physical, one of the most common war injuries is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the effects can be devastating to a redeploying soldier who has come in contact with severely traumatic experiences. PTSD is an anxiety disorder in which patients who have experienced extremely frightening, threatening, or traumatic situations show signs of avoidance and hyper arousal. The DSM IV is a book that catalogs all Psychological illnesses and provides symptoms and definitions in order to diagnose disorders. According to the DSM IV, “The essential feature of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor.” PTSD, as all other psychological disorders, is very difficult to diagnose due to different severities of the illness as well as the different ways it presents itself among a population. PTSD has many causes, all surrounding the broader category of traumatic experiences. Combat veterans are the most socially recognizable patients of PTSD, but the disorder can occur in accident and disaster survivors, and sexual assault victims including an estimated two thirds of prostitutes.(Myers 2004) A good metaphor used by David Myers, a psychologist compares PTSD to a metal spring. If the spring is stretched, it will recoil ... ... middle of paper ... ...IMH. 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. . "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder DSM IV Criteria." Mental Health Today - books, communities, education. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. . "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Diagnosis by MedicineNet.com." Medicine Net, Inc. Web. 04 Jan. 2010. . "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Coping and support - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for healthy living - MayoClinic.com. 10 Apr. 2009. Web. 05 Jan. 2010. .

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