Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Research Paper Example

Running head: POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER The aftermath of PTSD Joan Cordero Dr. Figueroa LA108-31 Monroe College Sunday, January 26, Introduction In the contemporary world, every one of us believes that we are going to experience relative level of safety as we carry on with our daily duties. However, many stressors are common in our lives especially due to the social and economic challenges or events that we face in the current hectic times. Based on our expectation of the occurrences of the stressors, we are accustomed to address them and come up with sustainable solutions. The effectiveness of dealing with the stress that we face in our day to day activities depends on how flexible we are and how much we are familiar with our abilities and own self. In some cases, a catastrophic stress may occur due to a single or series of events. During such circumstances, the feeling of safety that one believed in vanishes. An individual who experiences a catastrophic stress may have a high level of inability to handle such cases that are not normal in his or her daily life. Some of the situations that generate a catastrophic stress include murder, rape, mugging and hijacking among others. Likewise, it can be caused by natural calamities such as hurricanes, floods, plane crashes, hostage situation, public shooting, death of a member of a family and earthquakes among others. It is vital to note that it is not only the victims of such events that can be severely stressed but also the professionals, who are engaged in assisting the victims, the witnesses, friends and families of the victims. This paper seeks to discuss the aftermath of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) refers to an anxiety disorder that arises when one experiences an extensively stressful experience. Occurring either after some months or years after the stressful event, PTSD creates a frightening situation and it appears as if the experience would easily not leave the victim (Lommen and Restifo, 2009). Immediately after an individual experiences the stressful event, he or she suffers from traumatic stress. As the persons continue with their daily chores, they may notice that the traumatic stress is still there months after the event. In such case the situation becomes post-traumatic stress. Even though PTSD may not be clearly evident at the initial stages, it may still be within the victim and last for many years. Psychologists indicate that while some people develop PTSD after experiencing a relatively small stressful event, others do not develop it even if they experience a huge traumatizing event. Likewise, some people have a high chance of developing PTSD than others. Most notably, very young children or old men and women are more likely to experience PTSD. Similarly, individuals who have at one time experienced other psychological problems such as personality disorders, depression and high level of anxiety have high chance of suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to Turner and Jakupcak (2010), traumas that results to huge and severe experiences have high chance of generating PTSD as compared to lesser severe traumas. A good example of an experience that resulted to different level of PTSD was the Vietnam War. During the war, military personnel who were involved in air bombardment and use of dangerous and sophisticated weapons experienced a higher PTSD as compared to those who combated by use of few weapons (Bremner et al, 1996). Similarly, the possibility of getting PTSD when one experiences events that affects self esteem of a person or dignity such as rape or mugging produce as compared to natural calamities including floods or hurricanes. Symptoms Before a doctor or a psychologist initiates a process to treat or prevent a person from the negative implications of PTSD, it is fundamental to identify the key symptoms indicated by the person. It is worth to note that the productivity of individuals with PTSD is highly affected. Some of the notable symptoms include distress, poor performance in jobs and impaired social functioning. Other symptoms of PTSD includes restlessness, low level of memory, high level of anxiety, restlessness, difficulties in concentrating during daily duties, sleeplessness, irritability and hyper vigilance among others. The section below discusses the three key clusters of symptoms that are depicted by the PTSD victims. Intrusive symptoms Intrusive symptoms entail the memories that trigger the negative feelings that the victims experienced during the catastrophic event. The symptoms can be depicted by happenings such as nightmares, physical distress, flashbacks and frequent memories on the traumatizing event. Arousal symptoms Arousal symptoms includes physiological reactions that shows that a person does not feel safe and that he or she are physically ready to face the danger in case it occurs. Examples of arousal symptoms include feeling jumpy, staying asleep or sleeplessness, difficulties in concentrating, high level of anger among others. Avoidance symptoms Victims of PTSD depict avoidance symptoms that are revealed by their hesitation to visit places where they experienced the trauma. Other examples of avoidance symptoms includes feeling numb, low level of interest to visit social interesting activities, avoiding people, feeling hopelessness and feeling helpless about future activities. Apart from the three classifications of PTSD symptoms, some individuals indicate other types of physical and emotional symptoms that they try to address by ignoring the real cause of the disorder. Physically, individuals suffering from PTSD may indicate headaches, respiratory problems, skin problems, gastrointestinal problems, muscle cramps and feeling fatigue among others (Engelhard et al, 2007). On the other hand emotional symptoms include substance abuse, panic disorder, thought of committing suicide, depression, agoraphobia and lack of confidence to speak in public. Diagnosis The diagnosis process comprises of four major stages. The first one is exposure to traumatizing situation. For this to occur there must be risk of death or severe injury. Additionally, there must be an intense fear or horror during response to such an event. The second stage is persistent re-experiencing. These include various experiences that may keep on reoccurring such as distressing dreams, flashback and physiological response. The third stage is emotional numbing and continuous avoidance. Some of the notable aspects that are common in this stage include avoiding of stimuli that are related to trauma, avoiding people that may trigger one to remember the traumatizing memories, not clearly recalling the event as it happened and expectation that other people or events may restrict ones life (Kadak et al, 2013). Fourthly is the duration of the symptoms. One is noted to have an acute stress disorder if all the other symptoms including emotional and physical characteristics are present but thirty days are not over. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM), there has been an increase in the number of events that may be used to diagnose PTSD. Some of the key screening tools that can be used include PTSD symptom and Trauma screening questionnaire. Key PTSD Statistics Despite being exposed to extreme traumatic events, it is essential to note that some individuals are able to address the stressful events and avoid being exposed to PTSD. As the result of the research that has undertaken by various institutions including DSM, various statistics related to PTSD have been established. For example, the statistics indicate that 70% of individuals will be exposed to events that are traumatic in nature. Out of these people, 20% will experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The statistics also indicates that approximate at any given time, 5% of individuals develop PTSD. Based on the fact that women are exposed to high chances of experiencing traumatic events such as rape, domestic violence and sexual abuse, they are twice likely to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as compared to their male counterpart. In our lifetime, the studies indicate that 8% of us will likely develop PTSD. A key point to note is that among the traumatic experiences, rape is number one cause of PTSD. Prevention and treatment One of the major aspects of PTSD is that it can be prevented. Through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well various types of medication for example the propranolol as well as critical incident stresses management, individuals can be prevented from developing PTSD. CBT refers to an approach that is used by behavioral specialists to address issues such as maladaptive and dysfunctional behaviors through the use of goal oriented and systematic process. CBT therefore aims at helping the clients to choose particular strategies that will ensure that they are in a position to solve behavioral problems they are experiencing. By following the six major phases within the CBT, therapists are able to help individuals with PTSD. These phases include assessment, reconceptualization, skills acquisition, skills consolidation, generalization and lastly following up the assessment. Apart from propranolol, glucocorticoids and clodine are other notable medications that have indicated a positive impact in addressing the incidences of PTSD. For instance, clonidine has the ability to lower the symptoms of traumatic stress while glucocorticoids treat shock that occurs after the traumatic event thus decreasing the possibility of developing PTSD (Marx et al, 2009). In addition to the above ways of treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychological treatments are still being used in various by various psychologists. The major area that it targeted by the psychological treatments are the biological issues that takes place immediately after a traumatic experience occurs. This particularly involves the use of cortisol treatment. If cortisol is increased to the normal level, the GP upregulation is addressed while triggering forces of post events are effectively reduced. Other types of treatment Physical activities and sports According to US center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, disturbing emotions like those experienced after traumatic events can be distracted if a victim undertakes some physical exercises. Such exercises also allow an individual to regain self esteem and have the ability to control ones life again. However, it is recommendable that before a person goes for physical exercises or sports discusses with a psychologist or a doctor. It is also vital for the individuals suffering from PTSD to join gym and sports teams that are in their neighborhood in order to play with their colleagues. In this way, they will feel relaxed thus lowering the impacts of PTSD. Play as a major therapy for children Even though play can depict a sign of traumatization among the children, it also one of the essential ways of releasing stress among the children. Being one of the methods of psychological treatments, play allows the children to expose their feelings through talking, singing and modeling among others events. It is thus vital for parent to allow their children to have ample playing time not only when they depict sign of PTSD, but also when they notice they are not relaxed. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that anyone can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder especially as the result of security challenges such as terror attacks that may occur without our knowledge. As depicted by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder 70% of people will likely be exposed to traumatic events with 8% likely to suffer from PTSD. This implies that it is our duties to understand on how to address the condition once we experience it or when it occurs to our neighbors. Major symptoms of PTSD can be divided into three categories namely intrusive symptoms, arousal symptoms and avoidance symptoms. Intrusive symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, physical distress and frequent memories. Examples of arousal symptoms sleeplessness, jumpy feeling and lack of concentration. On the other hand, avoidance symptoms involves avoiding people and places where the traumatic event took place, hopelessness and lack of interest to visit interesting places. After being diagnosed with PTDS, it is vital for an individual to seek the help of a specialist in order to avoid extreme results of the disorder. Some of the major way of treating and preventing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder includes use of medications such as propranolol, glucocorticoids and clodine, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychological treatments. Similarly, PTSD among the adults can be treated by use of physical exercises and sports while play can be used among the children and young people as a therapy to treat the condition. References Bremner, D., Southwick, M., Darnell, A and Charney, S. (1996). Chronic PTSD in Vietnam combat veterans: Course of illness and substance abuse.The American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(3), 369-75. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220468538?accountid=41012 Engelhard, M and Hout, A. (2007). Preexisting neuroticism, subjective stressor severity, and posttraumatic stress in soldiers deployed to Iraq. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52(8), 505-9. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222797057?accountid=41012 Kadak, T., Nasiroglu, S., Boysan, M and Aydin, A. (2013). Risk factors predicting posttraumatic stress reactions in adolescents after 2011 van earthquake.Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54(7), 982.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.04.003 Lommen, J and Restifo, K. (2009). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.Community Mental Health Journal, 45(6), 485-96.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10597-009-9248-x Marx, P., Doron-Lamarca. S., Proctor P and Vasterling J. (2009). The influence of pre-deployment neurocognitive functioning on post-deployment PTSD symptom outcomes among iraq-deployed army soldiers. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 15(6), 840-52. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617709990488 Turner, P and Jakupcak, M. (2010). Behavioral activation for treatment of PTSD and depression in an Iraqi combat veteran with multiple physical injuries. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 38(3), 355-61.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1352465810000081 Read More