Posttraumatic Stress Disorder - Essay Example

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Psychologists agree that it is natural to feel afraid when in danger. The fear aids in triggering rapid changes in the body that are important in preparing the body in defending or avoiding the danger. The flight or fight reaction is considered a healthy response meant to shield the patient from harm. Contrary to the above case, in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the response is completely damaged or changed. Patients who experience post-traumatic stress disorder may feel frightened or stressed even when they are no longer in danger. The condition is considered a metal health disorder that is activated by either experiencing or witnessing terrifying events such as warfare, rape, car accident or genocide. A number of psychologists and therapists believe that the development of PTSD is contributed by a form of classical conditioning. Subjecting a person to profound stressful conditions makes the person sensitized to the condition and events that foresees its recurrence. Usually any form of stimuli that contributed to the tarrying events that led to PTSD can elicit fear in a PTSD patient. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms are experienced in three different principles; re-experiencing of the events through involuntary dreams and flashbacks; expression of generalized emotional numbing and detachment from friends and becoming chronically on-alert and hyper-vigilant. General symptoms may include uncontrolled thoughts on the terrifying event, flashbacks, severe anxiety as well as nightmares. Those who suffer from this psychological condition have trouble copying and adjusting for a while without necessarily being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A number of disorders are associated with persons suffering from PTSD given their close relation. A number of patients suffering from PTSD also have a high chance of suffering from substance related disorder, anxiety disorder and depression. When placed under good self-care in addition with time, they have a chance of getting better. Increased symptom conditions may lead to the development of the disorder which may interfere with the normal body functioning. For this reason, it is imperative to seek effective treatment after the development of the PTSD symptoms. Effective treatment plays a significant role in the reduction of the symptoms while improving functions. The paper presents a critical evaluation of a patient suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It presents the necessary information of the patients that will help in understanding the patient’s current and previous conditions. From the information gathered, a diagnosis will be presented through analysis of the possibly signs and symptoms presented in the patient. Afterwards, the information will be effectively utilized to draw a conclusion on the best method of treatment the patient can be offered which will ensure an effective outcome of the treatment. Identifying information Name: Carl Age: Gender: Male Referral information The patient is believed to be suffering from post–traumatic stress disorder after returning home from war in Vietnam. He experienced a number of traumatic war events that triggered some sort of fear and a series of symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder. Statement of need and treatment expectations Generally, the therapy aims at reducing the patient’s fear of the provoking stimuli. Therapy is also aimed at helping Carl modify counterproductive thoughts in addition to reducing stress in the client’s life. At the end of the treatment, the client expects to experience a reduction in the symptoms of the disorder he is currently experiencing. He expects to be treated of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Given that the traumatizing events and deeds he experienced made him feel dirty after returning home, he expects to be freed from that kind of thought after the treatment. He expects a reduction or a complete end of the nightmares and intrusive thoughts he keeps re-experiencing in his sleep. He also wants to be socially and emotionally available for his family given the effects of the war. History of presenting problem and Situation The patient has experienced a number of symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder ever since he got back from the war in Vietnam. He experience involuntary dreams and flashbacks of the war events; the traumatizing events such as witnessing his partners getting severely wounded and some dead, experiencing of traumatic events in the battle fields such as bodies of those he knew getting blown up through trip wires. The experience was continued despite the fact that he had experienced a lot of traumatizing events. Additionally the patient had nightmares and intrusive thoughts for a number of years. He constantly dreams of a huge pile of skeletal bodies following him around in his sleep. He never had positive intrusive memories just the bad and negative stuff. Carl experienced an expression of generalized emotional numbing and detachment from friends. After he returned from the war, he felt dirty as compared to his friends, he did not want to associate with them given the numerous deeds he had done in Vietnam during the war. He had to eliminate emotions such as compassion which affected him even after the war; lack of compassion helped him in taking control of the situation, he buried his feelings about family, people and life in order to work effectively. Sometimes felt compassion, other times never. He experienced guilt from putting people in harm’s way without thinking about it. He deleted aircrafts full of people. He is responsible for close to a quarter million of lives lost during the war in Vietnam. These traumatizing events keeps ringing in his head every once in a while despite the fact that he is no longer in the battle field. In addition to the above named symptoms Carl also became chronically on-alert and hyper-vigilant; Hearing the sound of a helicopter triggers defensive reaction on the patient; he gets frightened with air on the back of his neck rising, he would raise his shoulders while lowering his head in a bid to protect himself as he used to do in the battle field. He avoids public places with situation similar to those he experienced during the war, like pop con stands that produces similar sounds as gun fire, flashing lights which reminded him of helicopters and related incidents during the war. He also avoids crowded situations where he has no control of the situation like Fourth of July celebrations. These situations trigger defensive mechanisms. Background information The patient is from a struggling family though neither very poor nor rich. He had to go through military just to get a college education. He trained as air traffic controller assigning aviation missions to helicopters, pretty secure place even though he had been shot at, rocketed and mortared. He was made to work towards achieving the highest body count on the enemy which was equated to success and promotions. He mainly worked night shifts, got in the line of fire where the helicopters were constantly fired at. The patient constantly hoped not to get shot or rocket propelled grenade hit in the event. Family history of physical or mental illness Medical history and current medications Psychiatric history Substance abuse history The patient has abused alcohol in the past during the military days after the battle to help him deal with the battle field experiences. He constantly uses marijuana to calm his nerves and suppress his emotions in an effort to forget the trauma associated with the battle in Vietnam Legal history Educational background The patient is from a struggling family though neither very poor nor rich. He had to go through military just to get a college education. He trained as air traffic controller assigning aviation missions to helicopters Current community resources and services Personal and social resources and strengths Mental status Examination Prognosis and recommendations An effective way of treating the symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder involves the application of multifaceted treatment approaches. Each treatment aims at attaining the primary goals of the therapy which includes; the reduction of the client’s fear of the provoking stimuli, helping the client to modify counterproductive thoughts and the reduction of stress in the client’s life. The use of systematic desensitization prevails as the most effective way to reduce the client’s fear of the provoking stimuli. It is essential for the client to gradually unlearn their fear thereby reducing the classical conditioning process responsible for the fear. The client should be trained to systematically relax muscles from different part of his body. In this way, the client calms down. The client should be carefully re-exposed to the traumatizing events in an effort to aid in his recovery process. The use of cognitive techniques is also imperative given that it challenge the irrational believes and unhealthy thoughts patterns that underlie the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. In addition to the above named techniques, the reduction of stress in the patient’s life is quite significant. Anger management, time management skills and couple therapy can used to reduce stress in the clients life. This ensures the reduction of post-traumatic stress in the client’s life. Multi axis diagnosis or diagnostic impression A multi axis diagnosis is carried out on the patient’s condition as part of the treatment plan. The presenting problems are recognized and correlated to the criteria presented in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. According to the observation of the patient, the following symptoms of PTSD were recorded. He was exposed to traumatic events in which he witnessed and experienced with events that involved serious injury and threatened death: the battle field in Vietnam. His response involved intense horror fear and helplessness. He constantly re-experiences the traumatic event through distressing recollection of the battle field activities through constant nightmares, thoughts and perceptions. He constantly has recurring distressing dreams about the war and experiences in the battle fields. Additionally, Carl experiences dissociative flashback episodes. The patient persistently avoid the stimuli associated with the trauma such as social gatherings where he does not feel he is in control, sounds that resemble helicopters and gun shots like popcorns. He has a feeling of detachment from others especially his former friends as he feels dirty and cannot associate with them. He has difficulty falling asleep, irritability, hyper-vigilance and difficulty concentrating. Axis I: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Axis II: None Axis III: Good health prior to the war in Vietnam, no history of drug or alcohol abuse Axis IV: Partial isolation, inadequate support form PTSD experts, generally supportive family Summary of findings It is worth noting that not everyone who experience or witness stressful events suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. It is imperative to understand the factors that contribute to the development PTSD symptoms in some people as opposed to others. Of the massive number of people exposed to trauma, only a small percentage develops post traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Therapists and psychologist have narrowed down four main factors that contribute to this discrepancy. The nature of the trauma is considered a very significant factor. Traumas that are more prolonged, severe and that directly affect the family have a high chance of causing PSTD symptoms in a person. The copying technique of the person affected also plays a significant role. Those who have already experienced anxiety before have a higher chance of dealing with the symptoms of PTSD as compared to those that have never before experienced anxiety. Inadequate support network associated with the person affected can also greatly contribute to the development of PTSD symptoms. Works Cited "Faces of Abnormal Psychology." Faces of Abnormal Psychology. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. . NOTES Trained as air traffic controller assigning aviation missions to helicopters, pretty secure place even though he had been shot at, rocketed and mortared Worked towards achieving the highest body count on the enemy which was equated to success and promotions Worked night shifts, got in the line of fire where the helicopters were constantly fired at. Constantly hoped not to get shot or rocket propelled grenade hit in the event Witnessed his partners getting severely wounded and some dead Experienced traumatic events in the battle fields such as bodies of those he knew getting blown up through trip wires The experience was continued despite the fact that he had experienced a lot of traumatizing events Combat experience changed his view of a number of things. Made him feel dirty Lack of compassion helped him in taking control of the situation. He buried his feelings about family, people and life in order to work effectively. Sometimes felt compassion, other times never He never felt guilty killing the enemy, argues that if he was in the same situation he could have killed him-so basically he did his job better than the enemy did He experience guilt from putting people in harm’s way without thinking about it. He deleted aircrafts full of people. He is responsible for close to a quarter million of lives lost during the war in Vietnam In order to survive in the combat, he had to stay emotionally uninvolved and only access those sides that are important for surviving Strange and conflicting situation and feelings after the battle given the numerous bodies they had to bag The patient had nightmares and intrusive thoughts for a number of years. Dreams of a huge pile of skeletal bodies following him around in his sleep Never had positive intrusive memories just the bad and negative stuff Hearing the sound of a helicopter triggers defensive reaction on the patient; he gets frightened with air on the back of his neck rising, he would raise his shoulders while lowering his head in a bid to protect himself as he used to do in the battle field. When under the influence of alcohol, he experiences a series of flashbacks; in the jungle without a weapon feeling insecure and unprotected-smoking weed kept him calm, detached and helped with sleep Read More