Service Dogs and Symptoms PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Service Dogs

In basic terms, PTSD could, according to the National Institute of Mental Health – NIMH (2019), be conceptualized as “a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.” In the video, the dog helps its owner cope with PTSD by sensing changes in his mood. In essence, Gumbo could tell that Erick was upset early enough and moved in to calm him by showing affection. In this instance, the dog came in handy in seeking to avert or prevent a full-blown panic attack. There are many ways through which dogs could help veterans cope with PTSD. To a large extent, as Gumbo clearly demonstrates in the YouTube video, service dogs could help address the emotional needs of veterans. One of the more debilitating symptoms of PTSD happens to be emotional deregulation. In this case, the dog could provide a worthy distraction, i.e. by licking a person’s face etc. Further, as Ford (2009) points out, the said dogs can also be instrumental in other equally important tasks such as reminding a veteran to take his or her medications. It is also important to note that one of common PTSD happens to be dissociation. Service dogs could play an instrumental disorder in efforts to ensure that a veteran experiencing dissociation does not wander into a risky situation.

Persons with PTSD present with a number of symptoms. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America – ADAA (2020), there are three key symptoms on this front. The first symptom has got to do with “re-experiencing the trauma through intrusive distressing recollections of the event, flashbacks, and nightmares” (ADAA, 2020). The second key symptom manifests in the form of avoiding situations, scenarios, as well as undertakings and locations that bring back memories of the traumatic event. The third symptom, as ADAA (2020) further observes, relates to anger and agitation (both of which appear to be easily aroused), concentration and sleeping difficulties, as well as increased anxiousness and apprehension. It would be prudent to note that for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, she or he ought to have experienced the symptoms highlighted above for a period of more than 1 month after exposure to an event deemed traumatic. In addition to the symptoms identified in this text, there are additional diagnostic criteria the must be met for a PTSD diagnosis.