Stress and Post-Traumatic Disorder: Emotional and Physical Trauma - Research Paper Example

Introduction Stress is often a major part of any person’s day. From his waking to his sleeping moment, man is bound to encounter activities and situations which may cause him stress. Depending on the level of stress and on a person’s coping mechanisms, stressful events or situations can impact on a person differently. For some individuals, their ability to cope is well-adjusted and they are able to recover from stressful incidents without experiencing any other emotional trauma. However, for some others, they are overwhelmed by stressful incidents and they are bound to experience emotional upheaval in their lives. This paper shall discuss stress and post-traumatic disorder, their relationship with each other, and some personal experiences which can help demonstrate the impact of trauma or stress on a person’s life and the process of eventually managing stress. Discussion There is no definite and accepted definition of stress. Nevertheless, one of the most common definitions of stress indicate that it is a “condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize” (Lazarus, 1966, as cited by Gurung, 2006, p. 105). This explanation implies how conditions or emotions may overwhelm a person’s resources, thereby demanding more than what he can actually deliver. Many studies agree that the primary elements of the stress system are the “corticotropin-releasing hormone and locus ceruleus-norepinephrine/autonomic systems and their peripheral effectors, the pituitary-adrenal axis, and the limbs of the autonomic system” (Chrousos & Gold, 1992, p. 1244). When the stress system is triggered, behavioral and peripheral adjustments in a person’s life improve his capability to modify homeostasis, thereby, improving his ability to survive. In recent years, new information has been established on the interface of the stress elements and how the stress system and the brain elements are related to each other (Chrousos & Gold, 1992). Such new information has now made it possible to associate stress with other pathophysiologic, psychiatric, and endocrine disorders. This new information has allowed an analysis of stress based on mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is discussed by Schiraldi (2000, p. 3) as a disorder which “results from exposure to an overwhelmingly stressful event or series of events, such as war, rape, or abuse”. It is actually considered a usual reaction for normal people to unusual events. The events which cause PTSD are often severe and distressful; usually, they occur suddenly and overwhelm a person’s ability to cope (Schiraldi, 2000). The traumatic event in my life which caused me much stress and trauma was the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York. I was working in New York at that time and was also engaged to be married to Steve. Everyone in our office building was shaken and stunned by the attack; the terrorist attack left me dazed and shocked. At one point during the attack, I found myself sitting on the street and looking up at the burning buildings. I was horrified to see people in business suits jumping off of the buildings, some holding hands with each other, some alone; and every one of them jumping, in what they saw, as an attempt to save their lives. I absorbed those images before me; I could not help but watch. I was able to eventually make it out of New York and home to New Jersey with my fiancée. However, I was haunted by the images I saw that day. My dreams and even my waking moments were full of images of mangled and mutilated bodies; dead people trying to talk to me with their faces half-gone; dead people pulling at me in my dreams; people without limbs trying to communicate with me. I often woke up in the middle of the night crying and screaming because of those haunting images. For fear of seeing more of these images, I barely slept. Based on these symptoms, I was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms that I exhibited matched the symptoms for PTSD which usually includes the feeling of: being shattered, wounded, or ripped apart; not ever being put back together; being bruised and fallen apart; being changed; and being ruined and losing one’s mind (Schiraldi, 2000). I felt wounded and ripped apart by the incident, and I definitely felt like I would never be happy again, or that I would never recover from the incident. In my despair, I contemplated committing suicide many times in order to end my pain and trauma. However, I knew I was not alone in my trauma as various studies report that the instances of 9/11-related PTSD in New York increased from an average incidence of 4.7% to 10.2% (Neria, et.al., 2006). As a result of the incident, I was given anti-depressant medications and medications to help me sleep. I was also advised to undergo counseling and therapy sessions. And through these sessions I was able to familiarize myself with PTSD. I learned to understand my condition and somehow, two years after the trauma, I was able to slowly put the incident behind me. However, I still suffered general anxiety which often triggers anxiety attacks during stressful situations. The combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments were able to help me recover from the trauma; and although, memories of the incident still haunt me to this day, the memories do not emotionally cripple me as much. A paper by Yehuda (2002) points out that through counseling and medications, the symptoms of PTSD can be dealt with accordingly. Counseling helps educate the patient about his condition (Yehuda, 2002). Through education, a patient is able to understand his condition and to understand the process of recovery (Yehuda, 2002). Education is about understanding the biological process which accompanies the trauma and the subsequent manifestations which would indicate an inability to cope with the trauma. Through specialized techniques in counseling, it is possible to accomplish the following goals: alleviate the symptoms of PTSD; help a patient reduce his levels of distress; help patients confront the painful memories; help patients process their thoughts; and help patients understand how the trauma can affect almost all aspects of their life, most especially, their relationships (Yehuda, 2002). My counseling sessions with the therapist taught me a lot about PTSD. It made me understand that what I was going through was a psychobiological process and that it could eventually be dealt with through appropriate interventions. It comforted me to know more about the disorder and it dismissed my fears of feeling like I was going crazy. Yehuda (2002) also discusses that anti-depressant medications are effective interventions for PTSD. Medications available for PTSD sufferers include selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO inhibitors) (Yehuda, 2002). Studies are still being undertaken on the most commonly preferred type of treatment for PTSD. For some patients, one type of antidepressant may be favored over the other; and for some others combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is preferred. It is important to establish the patient’s preferred treatment in order to ensure compliance and deliver patient-centered care (Yehuda, 2002). In my case, the combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy effectively managed my symptoms. The antidepressants helped control my symptoms and the counseling sessions helped me manage my fears and the memories of the traumatic event. Through the combined treatment approach, I was able to effectively recover from the disorder and I was able to return to my normal daily activities with less fear and less anxiety. As I got over my PTSD, I was met with stressful events in my marriage. It was not long into the marriage when I realized that my husband Steve was entirely too dependent on his mother. This dependence became patently obvious when we had to move in with his mother as I was on disability and my husband decided not to go back to his work. Our stay with his mother showed me that he relied on her for almost every decision in his life and she, in turn, was very controlling of her son and of our marriage. Steve and I had many fights regarding his behavior and when I found out I was pregnant, it did not help matters at all. I had also many fights with his mother-in-law over how controlling she was of her son’s life. I decided to leave this stressful environment because I could not stand it anymore. During the stressful times, I felt the usual symptoms of stress which included headaches, sleep problems, general anxiety, fuzzy thinking, and feelings of frustration (Scott, 2009). I went back home to Georgia pregnant, unemployed, and on the verge of a divorce. Applying the coping mechanisms I learned from my therapist, I was able to eventually get control of my life. Before I knew it, I was a divorced single-mother, I was employed, and I was in another relationship, this time with Colby. This second relationship also had its own share of problems and stressors. Colby was not exclusively committed to our relationship. He was also seeing other people aside from me, and even as he expressed his commitment to our relationship, he was still seeing other people behind my back. This was a constant source of fights and disagreements with him. At this time, my stress levels were also high and I also experienced headaches, sleepless nights, and feelings of frustration. Again, I was compelled to use what therapy taught me about relieving stress and coping with stressors. The births of my children were both physically and emotionally stressful times for me. On the birth of my first child, Matthew, I was severely stressed because it was my first delivery and, although my former husband was there, he was not a strong and reliable support system for me. I faced the apprehension of raising the child on my own. My second pregnancy was less stressful than my first because I had the support of my second husband. In recent years, Colby and I have managed to face the different challenges of being in a family. I still have fights with him, but these are not as bad as before. The many challenges I encountered in my life have all managed to make me a stronger person. I have also managed to learn various coping skills throughout the years and have used these coping skills to be a stronger, more courageous, and a more focused person. The situations above represent various stressors. Stressors can be categorized into: physical stressors (inadequate ventilation, overcrowding, famine, etc); natural and man-made stressors (fires, accidents, hurricanes, explosions, etc); major life changes (marriage, divorce, family death, separation, birth, etc); minor hassles (traffic, lost items, job dissatisfaction); and personality-related stressors (impatience, inflexibility, poor-self concept, etc.) (Pan-American Health Organization, n.d). The stressors I have encountered since 9/11 were man-made disasters (9/11 bombing), major life changes (marriage, divorce, birth), and minor daily hassles. Various mechanisms for coping based on a study by Pearlin & Schooler (1978, p. 2) include “perceptually controlling the meaning of experience in a manner that neutralizes its problematic character; and by keeping the emotional consequences of problems within manageable bounds”. I have managed to control the effects of the stressors in my life by neutralizing their problematic character and also by controlling their emotional effects in my life. Conclusion The experiences I have gone through have taught me all about PTSD – its symptoms, causes, and interventions. PTSD is often caused by emotional and physical trauma, and in my case, it was caused by my inadequate coping mechanisms following my experience during the 9/11 attacks. Various stressors in my life include problems within my family and relationships. These experiences have all taught me how to deal with stress and trauma in a healthy and well-adjusted manner. Works Cited Chrousos, G. & Gold, P. (1992) The Concepts of Stress and Stress System Disorders: Overview of Physical and Behavioral Homeostasis. Journal of the American Medical Association, volume 267, number 9, pp. 1244-1252 Gurung, R. (2006) Health Psychology: A Cultural Approach. California: Cengage Learning Neria, Y., Gross, R., Olfson, M., Gameroff, M., Wickramarantne, P., Das, A., Pilowski, D., Feder, A., Blanco, C., Marshall, R., Lantigua, R., Shea, S., & Weissman, M. (May-June 2006) Posttraumatic stress disorder in primary care one year after the 9/11 attacks. General Hospital Psychiatry, volume 28, number 3, pp. 213-222 Pearlin, L. & Schooler, C. (March 1978) The Structure of Coping. Journal of Health Science Behavior, volume 19, number 1, pp. 2-21 Section 2: The Nature of Stressors (n.d) Pan-American Health Organization. Retrieved 05 March 2010 from http://www.paho.org/english/ped/stressin2.pdf Schiraldi, G. (2000) The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook: a guide to healing, recovery, and growth. New York: ...McGraw-Hill Publishers Scott, E. (11 October 2009) Common Symptoms of Too Much Stress: What Are Your Stress Symptoms? About.com. Retrieved 05 March 2010 from http://stress.about.com/od/understandingstress/a/stress_symptoms.htm Yehuda, R. (10 January 2002) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, volume 346, number 2, pp. 1495-1498 Read More