What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

What is PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder)?

PTSD, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that could happen following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening events including military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or sexual or physical assault in adult or childhood. Most survivors of injury return to standard given a little time. Nevertheless, some individuals may even get worse over time, or will have stress reactions that don't go away on their own. These individuals may develop PTSD. Those who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have trouble sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms could be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person's daily life.

People with PTSD experience three different types of symptoms. The first set of symptoms calls for reliving the trauma in some way including becoming distressed when faced with a traumatic reminder or thinking about the trauma if you are trying to do something else. The next set of symptoms involves isolating from other people, staying away from places or people that remind you of the trauma, or feeling numb. The 3rd group of symptoms includes matters for example feeling on guard, irritable, or startling easily.

PTSD is marked by clear biological changes in addition to emotional symptoms. PTSD is complicated by the fact that people who have PTSD frequently may develop additional ailments like depression, substance abuse, issues of cognition and memory, and other difficulties of physical and mental health. The disorder is, in addition, associated with damage of the individual's capability to function in family or social life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.

PTSD could be treated with psychotherapy ('talk' treatment) and medicines including antidepressants. Early treatment is essential and could help reduce long term symptoms. Alas, many have no idea that they have PTSD or do not seek treatment. This fact sheet can help you to better understand PTSD and the how it could be treated.

Do you know the symptoms of PTSD?

Although PTSD symptoms can begin right after a disturbing occurrence, PTSD is not diagnosed unless the symptoms last for a minumum of one month, and either cause significant distress or interfere with work or home life. To be able to be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must have three various kinds of symptoms: reexperiencing symptoms, numbing and avoidance symptoms, and arousal symptoms.

Re-experiencing Symptoms

Re-experiencing PTSD online symptoms are symptoms that include reliving the traumatic occurrence. There are numerous methods in which folks may relive an injury. They may have upsetting memories of the traumatic occurrence. These memories can come back when they're not expecting them. At other times the memories might be activated by a painful reminder such as when a fight veteran hears a car backfire, a motor vehicle accident victim drives by a rape victim or a car crash sees a news report of a recent sexual assault. These memories can cause both physical as well as psychological reactions. Sometimes these memories can feel so real it's as if the event is actually occurring again. This is known as a "flashback." Reliving the occasion may cause extreme feelings of anxiety, helplessness, and horror like the feelings they had when the event took place.

Avoidance and Numbing Symptoms

Avoidance symptoms are efforts people make to stay away from the disturbing event. Individuals with PTSD may try to prevent situations that trigger memories of the traumatic occurrence. They may avoid going near places where the trauma happened or viewing TV programs or news reports about events that are similar. They may avoid individuals that are reminders of the traumatic occurrence, sounds, odors, or other sights. Some people find that they attempt to deflect themselves as one means to avoid considering the traumatic event.

Numbing symptoms are another strategy to prevent the disturbing event. People with PTSD may find it hard to be in touch with their feelings or express emotions toward other people. For instance, they may feel emotionally "numb" and may isolate from others. They might be less interested in activities you once enjoyed. Many people forget, or are not able to talk about, important portions of the event. Some WOn't achieve personal goals such as having a career or family or think that they'll have a shortened life span.

Arousal Symptoms

Individuals with PTSD may feel continuously watchful after the terrible event. This is referred to as increased emotional arousal, and it can cause outbursts of anger or irritability trouble sleeping, and difficulty concentrating. They may find they are always 'on guard' and on the lookout for signals of risk. They might additionally discover that they get startled.

What other problems do individuals with PTSD encounter?

It's very common for other states to occur along with PTSD, such as depression, stress, or substance abuse. More than half of men with PTSD also have difficulties with booze. The next most common co-occurring problems in men are depression, followed then, and by conduct disorder issues with drugs. In girls, the most common co-occurring problem is melancholy. Just under half of women with PTSD also experience depression. The next most common co-occurring issues in women are then, and particular fears, social anxiety problems with booze.

Individuals with PTSD often have difficulties functioning. In general, individuals with PTSD have partner abuse, divorce or separation, more unemployment and prospect of being fired than people without PTSD. Vietnam veterans with PTSD were discovered to get increased incidents of violence, problems with employment, and many problems with family and other interpersonal relationships.

Individuals with PTSD also may experience a wide selection of physical symptoms. This is a common occurrence in people who have depression and other anxiety disorders. Some evidence suggests that PTSD could be associated with increased chance of creating medical disorders. Research is continuing, and it's also too soon to draw firm conclusions about which particular illnesses are associated with PTSD.

How common is PTSD?

An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a specified year. This represents a small portion of individuals who've experienced at least one traumatic event; 60.7% of men and 51.2% of women reported at least one traumatic event. The traumatic events usually associated with PTSD for men are rape, combat exposure, childhood neglect, and childhood physical abuse. The most traumatic events for women are rape, sexual molestation, physical attack, being threatened with a weapon, and childhood physical abuse.

About 30 percent of the women and men that have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. An additional 20 to 25 percent have had partial PTSD at some time in their own lives. More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced "clinically serious stress reaction symptoms." PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other wars. Approximations of PTSD from the Gulf War are as high as 10%. Estimates from the war in Afghanistan are between 6 and 11%. Present estimates range from 12% to 20%.