The causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of PTSD
What is called PTSD?
PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is a serious psychological condition that often results from an emotionally traumatizing event. People suffering from this condition experience horrifying thoughts or on the contrary become emotionally numb, in most cases with those who were close to them before the event.
What causes PTSD?
This condition may result from other events that involve violence and pain, such as:
- Kidnapping or being held captive
- Torture, rape, or mugging
- Childhood abuse
- Serious transportation accidents
- Natural disasters
Post-traumatic stress disorder has gained much public spotlight due to the problems experienced by war veterans.
Incidents, causing this condition are typically putting the person’s life or the life of a close individual into threat. Another type of events causing PTSD is witnessing a disastrous phenomenon, not taking part of it, such as seeing many people die during a train wreck or massive bombing.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
RNo mattter which event caused the condition, people report practically the same effects of it – recurring nightmares and daytime flashbacks. Other symptoms associated with this disorder include:
- Emotional numbness
- Sleep disorders
- Vulnerability
- Disinterest in everyday things
- Irritability
- Aggressive and violent behavior
No wonder, people having PTSD try to avoid situations and places that may remind them of the actual event, because it can bring back unpleasant memories. That is why anniversaries of such events are also typically avoided by people with this condition.
Diagnosis og PTSD
In case the symptoms persist occurring for a period longer than one month, the condition should be clinically diagnosed. Patients, who have been diagnosed with the condition usually develop it in about three months after the event has taken place and the course of disorder varies from one person to another. For some it may take a couple of months and the illness is gone, for others it may become chronic. In some cases the condition can manifest itself in a couple of years after the actual traumatizing event.
How to treat PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder patients are usually treated by anxiety relef medications such as Xanax and by psychological therapy, the both of which can be carefully combined to achieve maximum effect. Cognitive behavioral, group and exposure types of psychotherapy have been observed as the most effective in this condition, helping the patient overcome the effects of the event in a gradual manner. Medications that are employed in most cases of PTSD include serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and benzodiazepine antidepressants on eof whicjh is Xanax.
Some facts on PTSD
The disorder can take place at any age, even when being a child, and some studies suggest that this type of anxiety disorders can actually be transmitted through generations.
About 5.2 million US citizens are affected by Post-traumatic stress disorder. And women are more prone to developing the condition than men.
This condition is typically observed in conjunction with depression, alcohol and drug abuse, or other anxiety disorders.
In complicated cases, the patient may have problem with socializing and having interpersonal communication, especially if the event was caused by a person (rape, torture, mugging, etc.)
However, having an experience of a traumatic event doesn’t mean that the person will necessarily develop such a disorder.
Everyday situations can be a source of a flashback or intrusive image to the person with PTSD making him or her feel like the tragic event is happening all over again, and the person becomes detached from the real world.
