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What Causes Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:01:45 +0000

First of all, what constitutes trauma? Trauma is both a mental and a physical experience. How the body responds to a threat or being really badly hurt, is physical trauma. How the mind processes trauma that brings intense emotions that are literally painful or thoughts that are scary, is the mental trauma. Trauma can also change the behavior patterns of the victims from normal responses to a lack of emotions, a loss of concentration, sleeplessness, being very irritable and aggressive to having a hyper-vigilance which is a strong fear of a repeat of the trauma. Flashbacks plague the survivor with repeated images of the traumatic event.

Those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder have an overwhelming fear that someone they love may be killed or badly hurt. Studies have found that the more involved the person is in the horrific experience, the more they will be damaged. This does not mean that someone who is a witness to a horrific event will not be traumatized by the experience. Even hearing about a death can be traumatic for some individuals.

When a person is confronted by a very frightening experience they will have the “fight or flight” reaction, like the hunter who is suddenly face to face with a bear. When fear happens, the body responds by releasing “adrenaline”. Adrenaline will trigger or cause the heart to beat faster and the pressure of the blood to be increased while the muscles will get an increased amount of “glucose”. This is where the super-human abilities come into play and the person affected is now able to “run like the wind” until the danger of the moment has passed or at least the fear of it.

Once the fear has passed, be it real or imagined, the body will begin to return itself to its normal state by releasing another “hormone” which is called “cortisol”. If, however, your body does not produce enough cortisol to stop the response your body had to the fearful situation, the effects of the adrenaline may continue.

In individuals who suffer from PTSD, the body has developed an extra amount of hormones that will cause higher or over stimulating responses. These hormones are called “catecholamines” and are present in the suffer of the disorder all the time rather than just in cases of extreme fear. Any time the sufferer remembers the trauma, these hormones will come into play.

When these hormones do come into play, the rate the heart beats is increased. Over some time, with the body reacting in this manner, physical changes will take place like intensified hearing. One physical change will lead to another creating a chain of changes. In this case, the sooner the person is treated professionally for post-traumatic stress disorder the quicker this chain of physical changes can be stopped.

Treatment Methods for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:50 +0000

Methods for treating post-traumatic stress disorder can be both using medications and treating psychologically. Common methods include educating the suffering individual about the disorder and how to manage it by getting them involved in a quality support group, and educating them on how to handle their symptoms. The person suffering from the disorder needs to be taught how to reevaluate how they are reacting to the trauma stress and how to change some of their habits to a more beneficial way of living with the disorder. This is involved in psychotherapy sessions.

When the sufferer understands the disorder, their overall condition can be strengthened. They will learn how the treatment will progress and be educated exactly what the disorder is and what it means in their life experience. Many persons who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder have very wrong conceptions about the condition. Once they can understand the truth of their situation, they will be less likely to feel embarrassed by seeking help from a professional in the field of mental health, especially when the sufferer is in the military.

Another very effective method of treating the disorder is to help the sufferer understand some basic and simple ways to handle their disturbing and extreme feelings related to the disorder. Anxiety and anger are common problems associated with PTSD and for the sufferer to learn better ways of communication and relaxation will improve their ability to interact with others. This will empower them to gain control over their extreme physical and emotional responses.
Individuals who suffer from PTSD will probably have developed unnatural beliefs and ways of thinking that is dictated by the source of their trauma. During the process of examining their negative reactions, feelings and emotions, they will be helped in developing a new view of their own interpretation of every day experiences, bringing them into a more normal range once again. Real experiences will be the practice ground for the reeducation of their thought processes to a more normal and healthy level.

The health care professional may use eye-movement techniques. The person who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder will be encouraged to discuss the traumatic event while the professional has them focus on a finger that is making rapid movements. There are conflicting ideas as to how effective this type of treatment actually is for the patient.

Family counseling for those who are diagnosed with the disorder and their family members can be effective for everyone concerned. A family member knows pertinent things that the patient may not be completely aware of or may have blocked out of consciousness. The patient may be involved in some destructive behaviors that they are just not willing to divulge, like drug abuse or social dysfunction.

Sleep difficulties can be a part of post-traumatic stress disorder and needs to be specifically addressed Many have problems with sleep because of nightmares and will need help learning to fall asleep on a positive note and in a relaxed state to eliminate the occurrences of the troubling sleep images.
It has been proven to be effective to use medicine designed to treat depression and other anxiety related health issues. The medications have a tendency to help relief a lot of the panic, depression and anxiety that are associated with PTSD.

How to Recognize Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Recognizing post-traumatic stress disorder requires the following three situations. Reliving the experience that caused the trauma by flashbacks, upsetting memories, and nightmares that keep bringing up the trauma is one. Another is fear of certain persons, or going to certain places or any experiences that bring up the traumatic situation and feeling no normal emotional reactions. The third are actual physical evidences of the disorder which are referred to as hyper-arousal. These can be difficulties in concentrating, anger, trouble sleeping, poor memories or blackouts, unreasonable fears, and a tendency to be easily startled.

When there is a lack of emotional feelings due to PTSD, the result is a loss of desire for doing any of the normal things that once were enjoyed which is called anhedonia. When this happens the person losses the ability to see themselves in the future because they feel their life will be short lived and they tend to separate themselves from others or in general feel dead emotionally.

To be considered a post-traumatic stress disorder, the person must have symptoms of re-living trauma, at least three evidences of a loss of normal emotional responses, and two kinds of over-sensitive reactions that all last for the duration of a month or more that create considerable discomfort for the person. When all this is happening, there is a recognized disorder present. If this continues for more than three months the post-traumatic stress disorder is then considered severe.

An acute distress disorder will have similar signs. The difference between the two disorders are the duration of the signs. For an acute stress disorder, the time required is from 2 days to 4 weeks and the amount of symptoms are fewer than for PTSD.

Children will experience their trauma during playtime by acting out their troubled memories of the unsettling event. When the child experiences the trauma in dream-state, the events of the dream can be very general rather than a literal memory of the experience.

There are similarities between post-traumatic stress disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. One similarity is that the emotions of the person become out of control and lead to thoughts of self-destruction, uncontrolled rage or acting in a passive aggressive manner. Also the person will block out the trauma or feel like their life belongs to someone else or to another body. Their feelings are quite unusual as compared to others or they are plagued with guilt, constantly feel they are helpless, feelings of being ashamed or become obsessed with the trauma. This means they will either feel the need to be aligned with the trauma or seek vengeance against the person who caused the trauma.

Effectively Handling Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:59:10 +0000

Those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder find it difficult to relate to others, have problems on the job and in general find it very difficult to really enjoy normal experiences in every day life. Post-traumatic stress disorder can also be a precursor to other mental health issues like abuse of alcohol or drugs. Obsessions with food, depression and the possiblility of considering thoughts of taking your own life.

A lot of medical studies have been done on the survivors of war and the results have shown that post-traumatic stress disorder can also lead to certain medial conditions like chronic pain, musculo skeletal conditions, diseases of the heart, and other serious conditions like thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis. There is a need for a lot more studies to be performed to fully understand the connections between actual physical illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some of those persons who are survivors of a traumatic experience, do exhibit symptoms normally associated with post-traumatic stress disorder for a short period directly after the happening. It is a normal reaction to experience some depression, anxiety, fear, anger or guilt. These are all symptoms of PTSD but when they only last a short time directly after the event, it is a healthy response and when the person gets some good support, they will recover quickly. It is not easy to talk about such things with others to to seek help but it is important for a quick recovery.

Seeking help can also mean that a health care professional will need to treat you for a short time or you may decide to seek out the help of a faith counselor who deals with crisis interventions. When the trauma is left without any kind of treatment it does not go away or get better. The disorder will interfere with your life and relationships in a very subtle way. Seeking help quickly may keep you from becoming involved in a destructive obsessive compulsive behavior like overeating or drugs or alcohol.

Joining a qualified support group can be a great help on the road to wellness for those who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Reduce the stress in your life by exercising, especially breathing exercises and using techniques like yoga. Keeping yourself active, avoiding isolating yourself from society and avoiding self-destructive behaviors will also help relieve the symptoms of PTSD. Meditation is always a good way to eliminate stress.
In the future, there are specific plans for more extensive testing in regards to the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder by increasing the research on EMDR which is addressing how different types of minority groups can be effectively helped. There are also studies that will be done on the prevention of PTSD which can help trauma victims before they develop a debilitating disorder.