Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Mental Disorders: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder tends to surface among individuals with experiences of a frightening, life-threatening or shocking event. This severe, possibly incapacitating ailment may become apparent among eye-witnesses or survivors of life-threatening occurrences like natural calamities, fatal accidents, terror attacks, wars, personal assault (e.g., rape, abduction, etc.) or unexpected death in the family (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016; ADAA, n.d).
What are the signs and symptoms of the illness?
People naturally experience feelings of fear in the course of, and subsequent to, traumatic events. Fear causes several instantaneous physical changes that aid the person in evading, coping with, or protecting oneself from, it. Such a “fight-or-flight” reaction is common and aimed at self-protection against harm. Almost everybody experiences myriad reactions following traumatic encounters, though a majority of victims undergo natural recovery from its preliminary symptoms. Individuals whose issues persist might go on to develop PTSD. PTSD-diagnosed individuals may experience feelings of fear or stress despite the passing of danger. Signs normally emerge early (within a period of 90 days of occurrence of the event); however, occasionally, symptoms set in after several years. A person is only regarded as suffering from PTSD if symptoms persist for over 30 days and are sufficiently severe to impede work or relationships (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016).
A PTSD diagnosis necessitates an adult exhibiting every symptom listed below, for a minimum of 30 days:
· No less than one recurrent symptom (for instance, alarming thoughts, flashbacks or nightmares)
· One or more avoidance symptoms (for instance, avoiding traumatic incident-related feelings or thoughts, avoiding things, places or events that call the incident to mind, etc.)
· Two or more reactivity and arousal symptoms (for instance, edginess, easy to alarm, anger episodes, sleep disturbances, etc.)
· A minimum of two mood and cognition symptoms (for instance, difficulty recalling major traumatic incident details, negative attitudes towards self and others, self-blame, guilt, disinterest in interesting tasks, etc.) (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016)
What treatment options were suggested in the article?
PTSD-diagnosed individuals are mainly treated using psychotherapy, medicines or both. As all patients are unique and the disorder impacts each individual differently, a single-treatment-suits-all approach will prove unsuccessful. PTSD-diagnosed persons must receive therapy by a psychological health practitioner experienced in the area. Certain patients have to be exposed to a number of treatments before the therapist is able to determine which one proves effective for them. The most researched PTSD treatment is antidepressants that facilitate rage, numbness, misery and anxiety control. Such medicines might be administered in conjunction with psychotherapy. Clients and therapists may collaborate towards ascertaining the ideal medicine or combination of medicines, together with the ideal dosage (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016).
Psychotherapy entails individual or group talks with mental health practitioners for treating mental health issues, normally lasting between six and twelve weeks. Several forms of psychotherapy may aid PTSD patients. Some directly target illness symptoms whereas others pay attention to social, occupational or familial issues. Therapists/physicians can combine diverse treatments based on individual patient requirements. Sound psychotherapies typically emphasize some important elements like education on symptoms, symptom management and skills for identifying symptom stimulants. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), a valuable treatment in this regard, may encompass (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016):
· Exposure therapy. Such a treatment assists individuals in controlling and facing their fear. Patients are slowly and steadily exposed to experienced trauma within a safe atmosphere. They are made to envision, visit or write about the incident and its place of occurrence. Such instruments facilitate coping among PTSD patients.
· Cognitive restructuring. Such a treatment aids individuals in figuring bad memories out. At times, victims recall an incident differently from how it actually occurred. They might experience feelings of humiliation or self-reproach regarding something they aren’t to be blamed for at all. Psychotherapists aid PTSD patients view the occurrence realistically (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016).


References
Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). (n.d.). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Retrieved November 13, 2017, from https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-p
National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Retrieved November 13, 2017, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml