What is PTSD

What's PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or pTSD, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life threatening events like military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious injuries, or sexual or physical assault in childhood or adult. Most survivors of injury return to regular allowed a little time. Yet, some people may get worse over time, or will have anxiety reactions which do not go away on their own. These people may develop PTSD. People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have trouble sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the individual's daily life.

People with PTSD experience three different kinds of symptoms. The very first set of symptoms involves reliving the trauma in some way including becoming distressed when confronted with a traumatic reminder or thinking about the trauma when you are trying to do something else. The second group of symptoms includes either staying away from areas or people that remind you of the trauma, isolating from other people, or feeling numb. The 3rd group of symptoms includes things such as feeling on guard, irritable, or startling easily.

PTSD is marked by clear biological changes along with psychological symptoms. PTSD is complicated by the truth that people who have PTSD frequently may grow additional disorders for example depression, substance abuse, problems of cognition and memory, and other difficulties of physical and mental health. The disorder is also connected with damage of the individual's ability to function in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.

PTSD may be treated with psychotherapy ('chat' treatment) and medicines for example antidepressants. Early treatment is essential and could help reduce long-term symptoms. Alas, a lot of people do not know that they have PTSD or don't seek treatment. This fact sheet can help you to understand PTSD and the how it may be medicated.

Which are the symptoms of PTSD?

Although PTSD symptoms can begin after a disturbing 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. To be able to be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must have three different types of symptoms: reexperiencing symptoms, numbing and avoidance symptoms, and arousal symptoms.

Re experiencing Symptoms

Reexperiencing symptoms are symptoms that include reliving the traumatic occurrence. There are several ways in which individuals may relive a trauma. They may have upsetting memories of the traumatic event. These memories can come back when they're not PTSD online expecting them. At other times the memories could be triggered by a traumatic reminder such as when a combat veteran hears a car backfire, a motor vehicle accident casualty drives by a rape victim or an automobile crash sees a news report of a recent sexual assault. Both physical as well as psychological responses can be caused by these memories. Sometimes these memories can feel so real it's as in the event the event is truly happening again. This really is called a "flashback." Reliving the occasion may cause extreme 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 traumatic event. Individuals with PTSD may attempt to avoid situations that trigger memories of the traumatic event. They may avoid viewing TV programs or news reports about similar occasions or going near locations where the injury occurred. They may avoid individuals that are reminders of the traumatic event, sounds, smells, or other sights. Some people find that they make an effort to deflect themselves as one way to avoid thinking about the traumatic occurrence.

Numbing symptoms are another approach to avoid the disturbing event. People 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 might be less interested in activities you once enjoyed. Some people are unable to talk about, or forget, significant elements of the event. Some will not reach personal goals such as having a career or family or believe that they will have a shortened life span.

Arousal Symptoms

Individuals with PTSD may feel always alert after the terrible event. This is referred to as increased emotional arousal, and it may cause difficulty concentrating, outbursts of anger or irritability, and trouble sleeping. They may find that they are always 'on guard' and on the lookout for indications of risk. They may additionally discover that they get startled.

What other issues do people with PTSD encounter?

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

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

People with PTSD also may experience a wide variety of physical symptoms. This is a standard event in those who have depression and other anxiety disorders. Some evidence indicates that PTSD might be related to increased odds of creating medical disorders. Research is ongoing, and it's also too soon to draw firm conclusions about which particular 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 part of people who have experienced at least one traumatic event; 60.7% of men and 51.2% of women reported at least one traumatic event. The traumatic events usually 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 women and the men who've spent time in war zones experience PTSD. An added 20 to 25 percent have had partial PTSD at a certain point in their 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. Approximations of PTSD from the Gulf War are as high as 10%. Estimates from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 and 11%. Current estimates of PTSD in military personnel who served in Iraq range from 12% to 20%.