PTSD - Raising Mental Awareness - Take 1

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Have you ever been through something so traumatic it seems to haunt you afterwards? How long did it take you to recover from it? Or are you still suffering, struggling? You might have PTSD. I do, and I have met many people on here who suspect they are as well.

In this take I'm going to talk about the symptoms, causes, and treatments that may help with PTSD. It is not just shellshock, and anyone can be affected.

The causes

Causes can vary from person to person, and the ones I list here are very few compared to the possibilities.

Rape

Mugging/robbed

Terrorist attacks

Natural disasters

Watching someone die

Domestic abuse

Wartime

Children are just as susceptible as adults are to trauma and PTSD. Suffering from PTSD does not make you weak.

The symptoms

PTSD occurs when symptoms are present from the following categories for more than a month.

Acute PTSD is for symptoms lasting less than 3 months, and chronic PTSD is when symptoms last longer than 3 months.

Reexperiencing symptoms:

Flashbacks

Nightmares

Uncontrolled thoughts about the traumatic event

Avoidance symptoms may include avoiding the following to prevent remembrance:

Places

Thoughts

People

Activities

Arousal changes/symptoms:

Hyperarousal

Panic attacks

Anger/Irritability

Implsiveness

Nightmares

Cognitive/Mood changes/symptoms:

Inability to remember trauma

Depression

Feeling of guilt

Treatments

There are many different treatment options available to help, once again these are some of the ones I have come across in my research on this topic.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - often referred to as CBT

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - a newer theory

Zoloft or other antidepressants may be prescribed as well.

Feel free to share your experiences here, anonymously or not. If you have something to add, please do. Any advice on treatments that have helped you, feel free to mention if I've missed something, I very well have. I used the information from essays I've written prior to this take.

I also plan on doing more takes similar to this one, with different mental disorders. If you would like me to write about something specific, feel free to make requests.