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...

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…