Complete Exhaustion, Stress Disorder - Research Paper Example

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Overview Anxiety can be defined as a set of psychological and physiological conditions which may arise in any individual because of disturbances in his normal brain functions. Anxiety Disorders have been largely noticed in adults as around 25% of the adults are considered to be suffering from this disorder. Anxiety gives a sense of worry, panic, fear and distress to an individual if faced by it. But on the other hand anxiety is a sense of feeling faced by everyone at one time in his lifetime and so it is very important to distinguish between the normal levels of anxiety and the pathological levels of anxiety. This can be distinguished clearly if one analyzes the levels of distress faced by the individuals in their life and the effect of this distress on the normal behaviors of that individual (Pease 2011; NIH 1995). Anxiety disorders can be of many types which need to be diagnosed properly to know as to which type of disorder the person is facing. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one type of anxiety disorder faced by some individuals. It occurs in people who have faced a dangerous situation in their life previously and that dangerous situation repeats itself again and again in the mind of those people. (Thomas 2008). This type of anxiety disorder occurs in people in whom these events come back causing fear and horror. Individuals suffering from the disorder experience the events of the trauma in their mind again and again and a specific stimulus takes place in order to avoid the trauma from taking place. The disorder can be acute or chronic depending upon the time period of the symptoms shown by the individual. One may ask the question as to what really is a trauma that would cause this disorder. The DSM IV states that trauma is any event which involves death, threat or injury to anyone involved and the reaction of the person involves fear and horror. The symptoms of the disorder can range from mild to severe depending upon the capability of the person (Nutt 2003). Anxiety disorders may be Psychodynamic which means that their internal state of mind would not be stable enough and his impulses and instincts may conflict to cause the distress faced by him. It can also be faced as part of previous experiences which are faced by the person again in his life. This is a part of the learning process of the individual and he may not be able to forget those previous events which caused malfunctioning of his brain functions. And at times it may also be felt by individuals who are mentally disturbed by the environment in their house (NIH 2000). It is even suggested that anxiety disorders in individuals occur because of the abnormal functioning of the neurotransmitters in the brain. GABA receptors are known to play an important role in the normal functioning of the brain and if they are disturbed the individual may face from anxiety disorder. And lastly problems with the normal functioning of the body may also cause anxiety in the individual. These can be problems related to gastrointestinal tract, lung diseases, cardiovascular problems or brain disorders. (Kaplan et al 2004). Symptoms of Post Traumatic Disorder The symptoms of Post Traumatic Disorder are divided into three broad categories of re-experiencing, avoidance and arousal. These three categories clearly show that a person is suffering from this disorder. Re-experiencing is a category which includes intrusive thoughts about the trauma in the form of nightmares, flashbacks or other reminders. The category of avoidance includes features which help in avoiding the trauma by doing different actions. The person would not like to visit the places or individuals which remind him of the trauma and would have a decreased rate of pleasure in anything which he previously used to enjoy. The category of arousal includes symptoms like sudden awakening, shivers, anger, irritability and some sleep problems (Nutt 2003; Pease 2011). The re-experience of the trauma can be in different forms and can be the most dreadful symptoms for a person suffering from this disorder. The person re-experiences the trauma in a fashion that he feels that the same thing is happening again. He has images and thoughts about how the trauma occurred and goes into a deep silence for that moment. Some people even shout while having these symptoms of re-experiencing. This re-experience also occurs in the form of dreams and the person undergoes these dreams continuously. Hallucinations, illusions and flashback periods are also associated with the symptoms of the disorder. The patients also recognize anything which is similar to that event and undergo extreme psychological stress. In the same way that the person reacts to the re-experiencing part in an internal way, he also reacts to that event externally. People with the disorder tend to have increased heartbeat, increased respiratory rate or difficulty in breathing while they experience these traumatic events again (Nutt 2003; Pease 2011). In a similar fashion the person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder also tries to avoid re-experiencing the traumatic event. In order to avoid it the person does not let any thought of the traumatic event to creep into his mind and avoids having conversations about it. Because the person has intrusive thoughts about the trauma at times he cannot even recollect as to what exactly happened on the day. This makes the person more conscious and he feels that he is losing his mind. The person feels that the event may occur again and he stops participating in activities which would divert his mood and thoughts. He rather tends to fall in deep thoughts and tries to avoid the thoughts of the traumatic event to creep in. The person feels as a stranger to others and does not socialize much with them. The emotions of the person are also severely affected as he is not able to show his inner feelings to people. At times these people are not able to love in the same way that they used to before the traumatic event. Lastly the person believes that he is going to suffer from the traumatic event sooner or later and he may not be able to lead a long life. It is because of this reason that people with this disorder do not opt for careers or marry anyone (Nutt 2003; Pease 2011). Lastly with these two symptoms the symptoms of arousal are also witnessed in the patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The arousal symptoms of the patients relate to difficulty in sleeping or awakening in the middle of sleep. This awakening is because of the fear that the patients have developed after the traumatic event. At times these people have mood swings and start getting angry and irritated without any good reason. Concentration is also one aspect that these people lack as they are not able to concentrate on a subject for much long because of the intrusive thoughts that creep in their mind every now and then. These individuals have an exaggerated response to almost everything that seems surprising. Overall these patients can be identified on the basis of these three categories (Nutt 2003). Along with these three basic categories there are other symptoms associated with the disorder which can be seen in some people. People with the disorder undergo panic attacks which include the physiological system of the body. Panic Disorder occurs when individuals are faced with automated responses of panic and fear and while they are faced with panic they may face the problem of prolonged tachycardia. Genetic problems may also lead to anxiety disorders as it has been studied by Kendal. It was reported that anxiety is more common in individuals who are close relatives. Headache, dizziness, paranoia and substance abuse are common problems associated with the disorder. Depression and suicidal thoughts are markedly prominent in the people suffering from this disorder (Thomas 2008; Pease 2011). Treatment Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder which can be treated by relieving the symptoms that the patient may be suffering from. Different treatment options have been proposed to cure the disorder. Physiological and drug therapies are both proposed for the cure. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of physiological treatment option which is proposed to be the most effective in treating the disorder. This treatment option proposes different options through which the people can be talked out of the symptoms. This cognitive behavioral therapy is based on different principles which help the patient to explore their thoughts accordingly and face them so that their symptoms can be relieved. The therapy helps the patients to expose themselves to the thoughts which they fear and face them accordingly. The therapist helps them to view the traumatic event in the context of a trauma and not a question of life or death. The therapist helps the upsetting thoughts to come again and again so that the patient can get used to them. Similarly talk therapies are also recommended which help to vent out the problem faced by the individual in his life. These talk therapies help to relieve the individual of the tension that he is facing in his life. And another therapy which is related to imagery and training helps to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. It helps the child to get used to the problems he is facing in life and reduces his responses in reply to specific stimuli (Kendall 1992). Family therapy is another type of cognitive behavioral therapy which is used for people suffering from this disorder. This therapy approaches the family to talk out the patient of the problems that he is facing. It helps the family to communicate better and get over the problems that they may all be facing together. Family therapy is especially useful because Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is believed to be a genetic disorder which runs in the family. Thus family therapy can not only be useful for the patient only but can also be helpful for the whole family (Joseph & Linley 2008). Similarly pharmacological treatment has also been offered to patients suffering from this disorder which targets the receptors of brains. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are prescribed to these patients so that the level of the hormone serotonin can be maintained in the body. These are considered to be the most potential drugs in the treatment of the disorder. Alpha Adrenergic drugs are also prescribed to the patients so that the ratio of nightmares is decreased. Anti psychotics, antidepressants and anticonvulsants are also prescribed to the patients to counter different symptoms of the patients that occur in this disorder (Joseph & Linley 2008). Another treatment option being used these days is related to the cognitive behavioral therapy. It is known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in which the patients are urged to use their eye movements to get over their thoughts. These eye movements are believed to work in opening the information system of the brain. This treatment option is believed to help in processing the intrusive thoughts of trauma and building it into a cohesive memory. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is most often seen in individuals who return from a war and several techniques are being used to treat these former veterans. Nowadays virtual reality is also being used as a treatment option for the patients suffering from this disorder. A paper puts forward that virtual reality is providing an alternative for talk therapy for the patients. Virtual reality is providing the situations for the patients during which the trauma occurred. The clinician can alter the events as per the wishes of the patient. The experiments of virtual reality carried out on patients showed that it was quite successful in reducing the symptoms of the disorder (Springer 2011). Conclusion Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs because of hormonal imbalance in the brain which happens after the trauma faced by the patient. Treatment strategies are important to treat this disorder and it should also be ensured that these treatment options are availed at an early stage of the disorder. Different researches are being carried out all over the world to find out even more about the different treatment options of the disorder. References Springer (2011, May 16). Using war games to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 95-3879 (1995) THOMAS, P. (2008). Post traumatic stress disorder. Diseases and disorders series. Farmington Hills, MI, Lucent Books. Top of Form NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (U.S.). (2000). Child and adolescent bipolar disorder: an update from the National Institute of Mental Health. [Bethesda, Md.?], National Institute of Mental Health. Top of Form Top of Form SADOCK, B. J., SADOCK, V. A., & KAPLAN, H. I. (2004).Kaplan & Sadock's comprehensive textbook of psychiatry / editors, Benjamin J. Sadock, Virginia A. Sadock. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Bottom of Form Top of Form KENDALL, P. C. (1992). Anxiety disorders in youth: cognitive-behavioral interventions. Boston, Mass, Allyn and Bacon. Top of Form Nutt, D. J., & Ballenger, J. C. (2003). Anxiety disorders. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Science. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Maria Pease 2011. E Medicine Health Top of Form Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2008). Trauma, recovery, and growth: Positive psychological perspectives on posttraumatic stress. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More