Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): What Is It
PTSD is a deeply personal and sometimes debilitating condition that is characterized by flashbacks, emotional or physical memories of traumatic events. Symptoms can range from intrusive thoughts to uncontrollable knee-jerk reactions that often cause the sufferer to feel overwhelmed or hurt. Some types of trauma are more likely to lead to PTSD than others, but most commonly the condition affects people who have experienced an extremely violent, tragic or life-threatening event in their past.
What Is PTSD?
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can affect people who have been through distressing, shocking or even life-threatening circumstances. The condition can manifest itself physically, emotionally and cognitively, leading to symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, abnormal fears and destructive behavior. Not every trauma leads to PTSD; studies show that only about 5 percent of people exposed to trauma eventually develop the condition. It's more likely to occur when the trauma is extremely traumatic or of long duration -- especially if the person was helpless against it happening. The condition can worsen, or become chronic, depending on how a person deals with it.
How Is PTSD Treated?
In mild cases, a doctor may prescribe antidepressants to relieve symptoms. In more severe cases, people may need to see a psychiatrist who can prescribe psychiatric medications and behavioral therapies designed to help them cope with nightmares or flashbacks. These treatments often include group therapy and the use of distraction techniques such as biofeedback or relaxation techniques. It may take time for symptoms to lessen, but most people start to feel better within just a few weeks of treatment.
What Causes PTSD?
Most people develop PTSD after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event such as military combat, physical abuse, accidents or natural disasters. The exact causes of the condition are not known. It is likely that an imbalance in brain chemicals, genetic factors and the type of support people receive after a traumatic event all play a role. There are, however, certain factors that can increase a person's risk of developing the condition. For example, being female increases the risk of PTSD. Women are also more likely to have complex PTSD than men. The latter is a more serious condition in which people struggle with symptoms such as impaired functioning and depression as well as uncontrollable anger, sleeplessness and emotional numbness.
What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?
PTSD is characterized by three main symptom clusters, as listed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The three clusters are:
The symptoms also include:
Many people with PTSD experience disturbing dreams or nightmares, often about the traumatic event or events. They tend to be repetitive and to occur over and over again. Sometimes it might seem that they're happening at the time they happen (a flashback). Other people may experience these dreams or nightmares later on, when they might not have seemed as real at the time.
Families and friends of people with PTSD can also experience symptoms that mirror those of the person who is suffering from the condition, and often can continue for many years after the person has recovered, according to a 2009 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
How Is PTSD Diagnosed?
PTSD is most often diagnosed after a thorough psychiatric evaluation by a physician who has experience with the condition and supporting data from psychological and other diagnostic tests. The physician or psychiatrist takes into account all symptoms, and experiments with treatment approaches. A doctor will ask about traumatic experiences, any history of other psychiatric conditions, family history of mental illness, recent life events and substance abuse. Substance abuse such as alcoholism can both mask PTSD symptoms and cause new ones.
How Is PTSD Treated?
People with the condition can benefit from talking therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps patients learn to identify and manage upsetting thoughts and emotions. Treatment may also include medications such as anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants or mood stabilizers, which can help relieve symptoms of anxiety or depression.
After a diagnosis of PTSD, doctors may prescribe anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications, or prescribe antidepressants in combination with anti-anxiety agents. Other approaches include such therapies as biofeedback, which uses electronic sensors to help people learn to calm themselves; and EMDR, which combines a form of talk therapy with eye movement (such as using a pendulum) and other techniques. These interventions can help people learn to manage disturbing thoughts without feeling overwhelmed, or to "remember" the traumatic event without reliving it.
Therapists, psychiatrists and trained counselors generally agree that psychotherapy is the best treatment for PTSD. The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) practice guideline on the best treatments for PTSD includes a variety of "evidence-based" forms of talk therapy, along with medication and other approaches. The APA guideline didn't recommend any one type of therapeutic approach as "best," noting that the most effective treatment for someone with PTSD depends on their individual symptoms.
Conclusion
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that many people develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as combat, physical abuse, accidents or natural disasters. Symptoms include disturbing dreams and nightmares. People can experience depression and anxiety along with other symptoms. Family members can also experience similar symptoms after the person who is suffering from the condition recovers. In the late 1990s, there were several studies on how couples can survive in stressful situations.