Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Essay Example

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 1732 Words Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition of human mental health which is caused by a frightening event from the life of an individual. This includes not only experiencing and being exposed to negative affect of such events, but also witnessing them. This is a condition which usually develops with people whose terrifying events have significantly damaged them, and usual people normally do not develop this disorder after negative events. 1 This is a condition which makes a point of significant concern and this paper will investigate into its outline, etiology, and evidence and recommendations of treatment. Outline of the Condition Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety mental disorder which emerges after frightening, terrifying and stressing events of a considerable power. Typical events that are reasons for this disorder include road accident with serious consequences for health and life of its participants, assaults aimed at an individual, including sexual, robbery or any other type of personal violence, neglect, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, taking part in military actions, disasters of natural character – earthquakes, floods, attacks of terrorists and being captured as a hostage. Post-traumatic stress disorder may either occur immediately after being exposed to terrifying event or it may be noticed weeks or months or even, in some cases, years after the event. This mental disorder is noticed with 1 out of 3 individuals with negative post-traumatic experience; it is not known why this condition is present with some people and is absent with the others. 2 This mental disorder, as any other, has its symptoms. These symptoms are grouped into three groups: re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms. The first group symptoms, re-experiencing, may negatively affect everyday life of a person. They may be derived from personal feelings and thinking process outcomes. The triggers in this case are words, things, situations or objects which remind of a terrifying event. The symptoms include flashbacks – recalling the traumatic event, nightmares or unpleasant dreams, and terrifying thoughts. Avoidance symptoms, as it is obvious from the title, are such symptoms which occur after person’s trying to avoid activities which have caused a terrifying event. These symptoms include avoidance of appearing in places, avoidance of dealing with the things and objects that remind of a terrifying experience, emotional numb feeling, depressive or guilty feelings and thoughts, loss of interest in the previously pleasant activities, troublesome remembering the terrifying event. Hyperarousal symptoms cause feelings of anger and stress and they are not triggered by the reminders of the traumatic event, but they exist on a permanent basis. The symptoms from this group cause difficulties with daily activities, such as sleep problems, troubles with appetite, lack of attention and hard concentration. The symptoms which last longer than a couple of weeks and constitute a problem to the health of the patient are possibly evidences of a post-traumatic stress disorder; some individuals, however, may demonstrate no symptoms presence for a relatively long time – during weeks and months. Post-traumatic stress disorder may occur at all ages, and the childhood is not an exception as well. It is reported that women tend to develop this disorder more often than men. The group of people who are more likely to develop this disorder includes participants of combat actions and people who have been violently abused in different ways. 3 The disorder is characterized by increased fear reaction to the events which are similar to the terrifying one which causes post-traumatic stress disorder. The reason for this fact, as per the scientific research on this matter, states that any traumatic phenomenon or event is linked with a certain emotion. Emotional experience is the best driver for learning, and when the brain learns that certain emotion is connected with the terrifying event, it starts resisting it by fear reaction in order not to revive the event which has caused the mental damage. It is also stated that those with PTSD may lose the ability to distinguish between the situations which are threatening and those which are not because of the peculiar reactions for the defensive purpose. 4 Etiology of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder As it has already been mentioned, post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by terrifying events which make significant damages on a person’s mental health. The development of the post-traumatic stress disorder may be aggravated by such things as pre-traumatic factors of psychological nature: low self-esteem, for example, may contribute to negative experience of sexual abuse. Reaction of the other people to the causes of the post-traumatic stress disorder – for example, a woman subjected to rape may be referred to as mean and impure, and personal own reaction to the terrifying event (in case of rape, there may be feeling of physical discomfort) are the factors that may exacerbate the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. 5 The recent studies of the human mind and brain functioning, both from structural and chemical perspectives, have reported that there are two brain structures which affect the post-traumatic stress disorder: the hippocampus and amygdala. The hippocampus is a structural unit of the brain which is important for memory formation and it has been proved that those subjected to PTSD have a certain volume loss in this structural element – this may be due to the loss of memory as a symptom of the PTSD. The amygdala is the structural element of the human brain responsible for the fear acknowledgement: it is reported that people with PTSD have hyperactivity of this structural unit, that is, this fear may cause false alert signs. 6 Neurochemical researches have demonstrated that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormonal system may receive disruptions with the PTSD patients. The mentioned axis hormonal system is responsible for usual reactions to stress, and its disruptions may also lead to false alarm phenomenon. The neurochemical and psychological changes in individuals exposed to terrifying events may be basis of the PTSD development prediction.7 The researches of the etiology of post-traumatic stress disorder have also given evidence that pre-existing mental diseases contribute to the development of the post-traumatic stress disorder. The research among the soldiers who have anxiety, depression or other disorders of psychiatric character are twice and more likely to be subjected to the post-traumatic stress disorder development as compared to the people of the same age and occupation who have no mentioned mental disorders. 8 Research Evidence of the PTSD Treatment Post-traumatic stress disorder is a point of concern for the researchers from both practical and theoretical aspects of medicine, and its treatment is a particular point of interest in the research activity. Most of the latest researches on PTSD treatment state that most effective treatment types are cognitive-behavioral and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing ones. It is also reported that mostly cognitive and mostly behavioral treatments are also effective if applied separately, and the cognitive-behavioral treatment is effective in combination with the other types of treatment. Psychotherapy in general is an efficient way of PTSD treatment, and the results of the related researches have demonstrated that there shall be a thorough choice of the therapeutic approaches applied with certain patients. 9 Pharmacotherapy is another necessary and effective component of PTSD treatment. Pharmacotherapy approach to PTSD prescribes use of antidepressants, such as mirtazapine, nefazadone, venlafaxine, and SSRIs. The point of concern in this regard is whether pharmacotherapy is a primary means of PTSD treatment: it is agreed by the scientists that cognitive behavioral therapy, that is, an approach from psychotherapeutic treatment, is the most effective remedy. The research studies in pharmacotherapeutical treatment have also demonstrated that every patient has his or her own peculiarities, such as, for example, blood parameters which influence the medication efficiency, which complicates evaluation of the overall medication efficiency. Another point of concern in this regard is that different dosing and patients’ observing the prescribed dosing also make it complicated to clearly state that medicines are as effective as the psychotherapy. 10 The treatment researches conducted on people engaged in military activity have also proved the efficiency of the psychotherapeutical treatment approach, and it is reported that there is a need to define the post-traumatic stress disorder as a potential risk for the soldiers and to prepare them psychologically for the purpose of the PTSD prevention. This fact had reliable ground: the study was conducted on the soldiers who performed their duties in Iraq and Afghanistan; the number of people having mental disorders made three per cent before their departure to the place of their destination, and the quantity reached eight per cent on their return from the military actions zones. 11 Recommendations of the Treatment As it comes from the above mentioned results of the scientific researches on the treatment of prost-traumatic stress disorder, the recommendations on this damage treatment include preventive measures and treatment itself. Preventive measures are necessary to decrease the risk of PTSD development and to diminish the seriousness of the disorder in case of its occurrence with the individual. The treatment recommendations include combination of both psychotherapeutical and pharmacotherapeutical approaches. Psychotherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy in particular, is an effective means of treatment with proved efficiency and shall be applied on the patients, and pharmacological medication may be necessary to increase the effect of the treatment in combination with the mentioned psychotherapy. The recommendations may be also given to the friends and relatives of the patient with PTSD: they shall avoid mentioning the event which has caused the disorder and react positively to the patient’s progress and do not blame him or her for anything related to the terrifying event. Conclusion Post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious mental disorder which needs timely treatment. This disorder is typical of the military people, but the risk of its development is also high with ordinary people who have suffered from terrifying events. The treatment of this disorder must combine both pharmaceutical and psychotherapeutical approaches, and the influence of the friends and relatives of the patient may also contribute to improvement of the patient’s condition. Reference List Cohen, H. “What Causes PTSD?”. http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-causes-ptsd/, 2013. Mayo Clinic. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)”. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/basics/definition/con-20022540, 2014. NAMI. “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder”. http://www2.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=posttraumatic_stress_disorder&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=123102, 2015. NHS. “Post-Traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD”. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Post-traumatic-stress-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx, 2013. NIMH. “What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?”. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml, 2015. Schnurr, P., Friedman, M. “Treatments for PTSD: Understanding the Evidence”. PTSD Research Quarterly, Volume 19, Number 3, 2008. Read More