Features Of The Posttraumatic Stress In Adults - Research Paper Example

Features Of The Posttraumatic Stress In Adults Introduction Significantly, Posttraumatic stress is one of the common disorders experienced today with psychology practitioners classifying it as an anxiety disorder. In most cases, the signs appear after the victim has experienced a pugnaciously harrowing encounter. The effects make the victim avoid any sentiments and contemplations, especially those that relate to the violently traumatic event. Consequently, some of them even face other challenges such as lack of sleep yet they refuse to discuss about the event with anyone (Hermann 2014). Their condition makes them very vulnerable and interveners should take action with a lot of caution; however, the more the intervention and treatments takes long to start, the worse the condition gets. The crucial aspect of posttraumatic stress disorder is that the victim frequently revives the encounter in their mind in form of recurrences and incubuses; moreover, it depends on the depth of the event’s effect on the victim with some going for two or three months (acute) and others for much longer than that (chronic). In most chronic cases, the PTSD ends up affecting the normal function of the body with multiple deteriorations in health. However, most of the after-effects are psychological but the victims experience numbness, anxiety, grief etc. In fact, most of the reactions might seem normal but after a while, it gets worse and psychologists are the only ones with the knowledge to determine the diagnosis as PTSD. Family members, friends and colleagues need to track any alterations in comportment and notify professionals who know what to do (Ann 2007). Most people believe that children, youth or the elderly are the only people likely to get PTSD; however, adults who are victims of crime such as rape, robbery or abduction are just vulnerable as any other person. Most the traumatic situations make them victims of PTSD affecting their emotional stature, physique, thoughts, traits and incentive. Decisively, different victims have dissimilar reactions, in some instances, it only affects a small portion of their lives while in others, it may lead to suicide or other critical threats. Resolutely, this essay is a comprehensive assessment of posttraumatic stress disorders for adults who are victims of different types of crime as the first steps to establishing a gap in the vast intervention approaches. Literature Review on PTSD in Adults who are Victims of Crime For any age, the first step to offering treatment and interventions for PTSD entails understanding the trauma and the events description. Adults who are victims of violence face a lot of pressure since unlike for the other ages; most of them have limited care especially from family. Typically, trauma refers to an encounter that a victim deems as a threat to their life, uprightness, mental stability or affects their aptitude to deal with that and other life situations (Sims 2006). Moreover, victims of violence have different experiences of trauma depending on the crime itself and their psychological stature that determines how hard the encounter affects them. However, in some situations, the crimes leave the victims with corporeal wounds on top of the emotional ones, which augment the PTSD. Relatively, just like in children, adult PTSD may come occasionally or continuously with other experiences from childhood or youth adding on to the most recent encounter of violence. For instance, a woman might be a victim of rape, which would open childhood wounds of child abuse making her PTSD worse. Such situations and others make every victim different and the interventions should not base on past theories or treatments; they should base on the attributes of that person and their encounters. Assertively, adult’s PTSD is more prevalent because some of them are not actual fatalities; their children might be victims of violence and due to the harsh experience for their loved ones, the parents end up traumatized even more than the child might. All the same, psychologists and other medical practitioners use common reactions to victimization that to confirm a PTSD diagnosis. Crimes such as rape, robbery or abduction leave the victims in shock and incredulity with question on why the assailant chose them, if they deserved it among others (Ann 2007). This creates a numb emotion and after some time, they feel that the assailant took away their confidentiality and conviction, especially in cases of rape or robbery from friends and relatives. Essentially, even though sometimes the victims say that they are experienced mixed feelings, some of the common sentiments entail resentment, frustration, panic, misgiving, tension, melancholy, remorse, disgrace and humiliation. Given the experience, these emotions are normal even if the make the victim prickly; however, they are also very crucial especially if the adult does not perceive them in the right way. They form a foundation for the PTSD when the victim avoids any emotional contact by isolating and alienating themselves from the society or people around them (Bard 2014). Family and friends are usually in the best position to help the victim because of their close relations but if they fail to understand his/her condition, they are unable to give the necessary support, mostly because of anxiety. In addition, the following physical symptoms are common reactions to trauma: queasiness, indigestions, migraines and multiple arcane aches in different parts of the body. In most cases, the physical ailments lead to insomnia, muscle tautness and lack of appetite. Flashbacks of the event makes the victims feel powerless and entombed, which affects their normal functioning because everyone seems to relate them to that encounter (ASP 2007). However, some of them do not clearly recall every moment of their experience and they waste much time trying to remember what happened, looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle. Coping with the trauma is the primal step to treatment and how they victim does this depends on aspects such as how long the encounter took, how bad the injuries are, victim’s history on trauma experience, their perception of life in general and the kind of support offered. Continuous support works well for the victims because they experience love and care which accelerates the healing or recovery. Adults have a hard time coping with trauma mostly on the aspect of making the right decisions; typically, one can choose to use negative or positive approaches depending on the support they get (Straatman 2008). However, due to the limited support, adults can easily switch to the negative strategies such as being alcoholics and drug addicts; in fact, some of them might even commit suicide. Literature Review on Interventions for Adult’s PTSD Definitely, due to the different reactions to PTSD and coping mechanisms, interventions vary depending on different attributes of the victim. However, most psychologists apply similar coping approaches as the foundation of their treatment. The popular forms of intervention entail asking the victim to find someone he/she is close to for effective communication; naturally, this person is a core determinant of their progress (ASP 2007). They should be receptive and understanding. The interventions also advocate for the idea of the victim allowing himself/herself to experience the discomfort so that they can communicate more about it. Additionally, they should spend time with others and observe their mind and body well-being by eating and sleeping as required. After observing the above factors, the victims take on standard schedules and routines that will assist them in making the right decisions diurnal. This forms the basis for the victims to bring back their life to normal and for some psychologists exercise is a part of the daily routine to assist in moderation of the body and mind. Since stress might act as a hindrance to utter performance for an adult with PTSD, it is encouraged that one takes a lot of caution while doing chores and other tasks (Hermann 2014). Victims of crimes such as robbery should apply mechanisms that helped them cope during hard times before or spend more time with people that inspire and motivate them such as parents, spouses or close friends. Some of the common forms of treatment for adults with PTSD entail Trauma- focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing focus on evaluating the trauma and its effects on the victim’s mental patterns. However, it is evident from past research that non-trauma interventions do not work well for adults with PTSD because the symptoms and emotions need to respond to these interventions. For instance, supportive counseling and relaxation is not very effective for adults with PTSD because the intervention does not base on the evidence, which in this case are the symptoms, emotions and other reactions. Generally, the best interventions for adult PTSD should focus on managing the stress and therapy based on medication (Bard 2014). Due to the different effects of PTSD on adults, healthcare professional also apply approaches such as watchful waiting; however, this only works best when the symptoms are trivial and do not take on a great part of the victims wife. It also depends on individual reactions to how the victim responded to their experience. Even though some practitioners still apply them, Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure are questionable approaches because no evidence supports their merits for adults who are victims of violence (Sims 2006). Commonly, PTSD treatment for adults who are victims of crime or violence bases on personal attributes because some interventions cannot work if they have cardiac or respiratory problems or other issues that affect their memory, knowledge, devotion and awareness. The Identified Gap and Evaluation of the New Intervention An assessment of past research and findings shows that psychologists have a hard time coming up with the best treatment and interventions for adults who are victims of crime; typically, there lacks a comprehensive foundation for treatment unlike in cases of children, youth and the elderly. The first step entails understanding that crime could happen to anyone and psychologists or medical practitioners should focus on the trauma, how it affects the victim and their present condition more than their past, background and other less significant factors. This way it will be easier for them to convince the victim that it is not their fault and there was no way to prevent it. Moreover, this should apply for everyone including the family, friends and colleagues as part of creating a sense of stability and amour-propre for the victims; they will be able to trust and feel loved again. Most people, including the psychologists focus on the intervention itself rather than the victim and their environs; typically, what or who are around him/her and if they can be of any help (Sims 2006). Positive strategies should work well as part of treatment and intervention, they entail; discussing about the event, the emotions, physical reactions and applying mechanisms that will help the victim get over the encounter (Hermann 2014). This helps the victim to accept their situation and work with the people around them in overcoming it; eventually, they adapt their normal routines. However, psychologists argue that every person has a unique experience and their coping mechanisms are highly idiosyncratic; matter of fact, some adults with PTSD put in much effort to hide their reactions hence not depicting any signs of the diagnosis. Patience from family, friends and practitioners is chief requirement especially in evaluating the victim’s behavior because some of them change after a few months and other react immediately and the trauma wears off after a few weeks. Moreover, after the victims start to recover, augmented focus should be on support, not on approaches that could help accelerate the recovery, in fact, sometimes the medical practitioners perceive slight recovery and full recovery leaving the victim in more critical state. The victim’s welfare matters more than the intervention since the trauma has prolonged effects on the recovery processes, which is why some interventions that work very well for other ages fail for adults. The variables involved matter the most and it is through them that intervention and other forms of treatment should begin. PTSD in adults who are victims of crime definitely has its vicissitudes, even for those giving the support and treatment; nonetheless, all these parties should focus on understanding all aspects including the trauma and the victim, which will form the basis for intervention. Understanding the victim alone is less fruitful and effectual because there lacks a factor to relate their feelings and reactions to (Straatman 2008). Obviously, most people are reluctant to asking the victims to narrate their experience perceiving it as a form of torture; however, there is no hope in understanding only one factor and overlooking the others. Conclusion Assertively, posttraumatic stress disorder has different effects on adults depending on the crime or violent encounter; relatively, the varying interventions are the foundation for the treatment and progress of the victims. However, according to the literature review most of these interventions lack a comprehensive underpinning hence affecting the whole process. Essentially, most psychologists are aware that the condition of the victim is the most significant factor determining the intervention; however, most of them only apply little information on creating the groundwork that dictates the best form of intervention. In conclusion, the best approach to the new intervention entails understanding the victim extensively inclusive of his background, occupation, life objectives and past encounters, especially those that relate with their current condition. References Ann, E. (2007). Impact of Crime on Victims: National Victim Assistance Academy, Vol.19, no.1, pp.6-15 Australian Psychological Society (APS) (2007) Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Adults with Acute Stress Disorder and PTSD, Retrieved on 24 January 2015, from http://www.psychology.org.au/inpsych/ptsd/ Bard, M. (2014) Victims and Persons Experiencing PTSD- Trauma of Victimization: National Center for Victims of Crime, vol.3, no.2, pp.119-120 Hermann, B. (2014). PTSD Assessment and Treatment in Adults: National Center for PTSD- US Department of Veteran Affairs, Retrieved on 24 January 2015, from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/older/assessment_tx_older_adults.asp Sims, B. (2006). The Efficacy of Victims Services Programs- Alleviating the Psychological Suffering of Crime Victims: Criminal Justice Policy Review, Vol.17, pp.387-406 Straatman, A. (2008). Victim Services and Trauma Resources Directory: Victim Services of Sarnia Lambton, Retrieved on 24 January 2015, from http://www.victimservices.on.ca/cmsfiles/Victim_Services_Sarnia_Lambton_Trauma_Resources_Directory.pdf Read More