What is Post-Traumatic Stress

What exactly is PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or pTSD, is a psychiatric illness that could happen following the experience or witnessing of a life threatening events like military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or sexual or physical PTSD Community assault in adult or childhood. Most survivors of injury return to ordinary given a little time. Nonetheless, some individuals may get worse over time, or will have anxiety reactions which do not go away on their own. These people may develop PTSD. Individuals who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have trouble sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms could be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person's everyday life.

Individuals with PTSD experience three different types of symptoms. The first group of symptoms involves reliving the trauma in some way for example becoming distressed when confronted with a traumatic reminder if you are trying to do something else or thinking about the trauma. The 2nd set of symptoms involves isolating from others either staying away from people or areas that remind you of the injury, or feeling numb. The third group of symptoms includes things including feeling on guard, irritable, or startling readily.

PTSD is marked by clear biological changes as well as psychological symptoms. PTSD is complicated by the truth that people with PTSD often may grow issues of cognition and memory, additional ailments including depression, substance abuse, and other problems of physical and mental health. The disorder is, in addition, associated with impairment of the individual's skill to work in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.

PTSD may be treated with psychotherapy ('talk' therapy) and medicines for example antidepressants. Early treatment is important and may help reduce long term symptoms. Unfortunately, lots of people don't know that they don't seek treatment or have PTSD. This fact sheet can help you to better understand the and PTSD how it could be medicated.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Although PTSD symptoms can start after a traumatic event, PTSD isn't diagnosed unless the symptoms last for a minumum of one month, and either cause significant distress or interfere with work or home life. In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must have three different kinds of symptoms: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance and numbing symptoms, and arousal symptoms.

Re experiencing Symptoms

Re experiencing symptoms are symptoms that include reliving the traumatic occurrence. There are numerous methods in which individuals may relive a trauma. They may have disturbing memories of the traumatic event. These memories can come back when they're not expecting them. At other times the memories might be triggered by a distressing reminder like when a fight veteran hears a car backfire, an automobile accident casualty drives by a car accident or a rape victim sees a news report of a recent sexual assault. These memories can cause both emotional as well as physical responses. Occasionally these memories can feel so real it's as in the event the occasion is truly happening again. This really is known as a "flashback." Reliving the event can cause intense feelings of anxiety, helplessness, and horror similar to the feelings they had when the event took place.

Avoidance and Numbing Symptoms

Avoidance symptoms are efforts people make to avoid the painful event. People with PTSD may try to avoid situations that trigger memories of the traumatic occurrence. They may avoid seeing TV programs or news reports about events that are similar or going near locations where the injury happened. They may avoid people that are reminders of the traumatic occurrence, sounds, odors, or other sights. Many people find that they attempt to divert themselves as one means to prevent thinking about the traumatic event.

Numbing symptoms are another strategy to avoid the traumatic event. Individuals with PTSD may find it challenging to be in touch with their feelings or express emotions toward others. For example, they may feel emotionally "numb" and may isolate from others. They may be less interested in activities you once loved. Some people are unable to talk about, or forget, important elements of the occasion. Some WOn't accomplish personal goals such as having family or a career or believe that they will have a shortened life span.

Arousal Symptoms

Individuals with PTSD may feel constantly watchful after the terrible event. This is referred to as increased emotional arousal, and it can cause outbursts of anger or irritability, difficulty sleeping, and difficulty focusing. They may realize they are constantly 'on guard' and on the lookout for signs of danger. They might additionally find that they get startled.

What other problems do individuals with PTSD experience?

It is very common for other states to occur along with PTSD, such as depression, stress, or substance abuse. More than half of men with PTSD also have problems with booze. The next most common co-occurring issues in men are melancholy, followed by conduct disorder, and then problems with drugs. In girls, the most typical co-occurring issue is depression. Just under half of women with PTSD also experience depression. The following most common co-occurring problems in women are specific anxieties, social anxiety, and then problems with booze.

Individuals with PTSD often have problems functioning. Generally, people with PTSD have spouse abuse, divorce or separation, more unemployment and chance of being fired than people without PTSD. Vietnam veterans with PTSD were found to have many problems with family and other interpersonal relationships, problems with employment, and increased episodes of violence.

Individuals with PTSD also may experience a wide variety of physical symptoms. It is a familiar occurrence in those who have depression and other anxiety disorders. Some evidence indicates that PTSD might be related to increased odds of developing medical ailments. Research is continuing, and it is too soon to draw strong conclusions about which disorders are associated with PTSD.

How common is PTSD?

An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a given year. This represents a small portion of those who've experienced at least one traumatic event; 60.7% of men and 51.2% of women reported at least one traumatic event. The traumatic events most often associated with PTSD for men are rape, combat exposure, childhood neglect, and childhood physical abuse. The most traumatic events for women are rape, sexual molestation, physical attack, being threatened with a weapon, and childhood physical abuse.

About 30 percent of the men and women who've spent time in war zones experience PTSD. An added 20 to 25 percent have had partial PTSD at some time in their own lives. More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced "clinically serious stress reaction symptoms." PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other wars. Estimates of PTSD from the Gulf War are as high as 10%. Approximations from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 and 11%. Present estimates range from 12% to 20%.