Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder brought on by an extremely traumatic psychological event. PTSD is marked by clear biological changes as well as psychological symptoms. PTSD is complicated by the fact that it frequently occurs in conjunction with related disorders such as depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other problems of physical and mental health.

RAPE

MYTHS & DATE RAPE COMMON Q & HELP FEELINGS from rape CAMPUS PTSD

mAIN pAGE

                    Warning Signs:

                                    Flashbacks
                                    Nightmares
                           Anxiety or depression
                        Sudden aggressive behavior
                                Feelings of guilt
                                                                        Social Withdrawal
                                                                        Difficulty Sleeping
                                                                Feeling detached or estranged

This topic concerns mental and emotional problems people experience in the wake of 'trauma', where trauma is understood

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

Rape, Abuse, Incest http://www.rainn.org/

Survivors of Incest http://www.siawso.org/

4 more info on violence http://www.4woman.gov

Trauma Recovery http://www.trauma-pages.com/

to refer to an event involving being a survivor of or witness to atrocity, violence, true horror

and/or the death of another or near death of ones self. Examples might include rape, murder, torture, accidents, terrorism, etc. There are two types of traumatic stress disorders. Put in a nutshell, acute stress disorder occurs in the time frame between just after exposure to a traumatic event to six months later, and posttraumatic stress beginning at the six month point and extending thereafter.

All forms of post-trauma response are typically characterized by the presence of three classes of symptoms. First, the post-trauma survivor typically experiences intrusive memories of the traumatic event. Intrusive recollections may occur during waking hours or sleep (in the form of repetitive vivid recreation nightmares involving the trauma). Second, the survivor makes efforts to avoid exposure to anything that might cause them to recall the trauma they experienced. Third, the survivor typically shows an exaggerated startle response and heightened anxiety levels. As a result of these sorts of symptoms, experienced on a consistent basis day in and day out, PTSD (as posttraumatic stress is called) can be a very debilitating condition.

Some persons react quickly to traumatic exposure, while others appear to emerge from traumatic exposure unscathed, only to experience the sudden emergence of PTSD-type symptoms months or years later. Either way, the emotions and memories from the trauma can feel unbearable and overwhelming.

Whatever the source of the problem, some people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in the form of nightmares and disturbing recollections during the day. They may also experience sleep problems, depression, feeling detached or numb, or being easily startled. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy and have trouble feeling affectionate. They may feel irritable, more aggressive than before, or even violent. Seeing things that remind them of the incident may be very distressing, which could lead them to avoid certain places or situations that bring back those memories. Anniversaries of the event are often very difficult.

Ordinary events can serve as reminders of the trauma and trigger flashbacks or intrusive images. A flashback may make the person lose touch with reality and reenact the event for a period of seconds or hours or, very rarely, days. A person having a flashback, which can come in the form of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, usually believes that the traumatic event is happening all over again.

Specific Symptoms of this Disorder:

The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others and the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in one (or more) of the following ways:

recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions.
recurrent distressing dreams of the event.
acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated).
intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

The individual also has persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma
efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma
inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)
sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)

Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:

difficulty falling or staying asleep
irritability or outbursts of anger
difficulty concentrating
hyper vigilance
exaggerated startle response

The disturbance, which has lasted for at least a month, causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.