Post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental condition whereby the sufferer experiences fetes of extreme fear long after a tragic or extremely bad incident happens to them. In fact it is an emotional condition where the sufferer experiences instability with regard to their emotions. This condition is known to set in when the people suffering from it tend to remember a tragic incident or when they come into contact with things and places that remind them of what happened to them. In as much as it has been in existence for a very long time, it became recognized in the 1980s (Kinchin 2005). Before then it was known by different names such as the soldier’s heart, gross stress reaction, post Vietnam syndrome, battle fatigue and even combat fatigue before it became widely known as PTSD. A person may seem to have recovered from the trauma but people suffering from this condition seem severely depressed or affected long after the events. It can therefore be summed up as an emotional condition.
Post- traumatic stress disorder affects everyone in society. Women are at a higher risk of suffering from it than men. Children are also not left out. It is a condition that spares no one. The ages do not matter as long as tragedy continues to happen in our society today. It is not surprising that even children end up suffering from it and if it sets in at an early age a person will have to live with it for a very long time as medications do not completely cure it. It is therefore advised that children be helped to deal with traumatic events early in their lives lest they end up filled with fear all their lives. It is not children only who should receive help but everyone else needs to be helped to deal with stressful events in their lives.
This condition can be triggered by anything and everything around a person. This includes both and internal and external environment. The internal environment included everything within our bodies and can be in form of thoughts, memories, bodily sensations and even feelings while the external factors may include people that one is living with or even a stressful situation or place that a person may encounter as they go about their daily routines (England 2009). These triggers are not self inflicted but occur rather naturally and the patients may not have any control over them. It is therefore imperative to note that these triggers are beyond someone’s control and when they occur, they bring to the person suffering from this condition, memories of the event that causes them the distress and trauma.
Post- traumatic stress disorder can be detected up to at least a month after a traumatic event has occurred. But real symptoms may not be seen until very many months or years after the ordeal. There are three main types of symptoms that come at this point. The first one is re-experiencing the trauma by having very distressing recollections among them flashbacks and even nightmares (Simpson & Simpson 2002). In this case, a person gets themselves back in time and feels as if they are going through the ordeal or trauma in real life long after the event took place. In this case, the person will get very distressed and even after the flashback or nightmare is over, they feel that they are undergoing the bad experience all over, over and over again. This does not happen just once but recurs several times.
Another symptom is that of suffering from emotional numbness whenever a thought of the trauma crosses someone’s mind. This goes further on and the person tries so much to avoid places that remind them of that tragic event, they can even avoid persons and activities that bring back those memories that are better off forgotten. Aside from this, a person may feel quite restless to such an extent that they experience difficulty doing everyday activities such as eating and even sleeping. Another symptom that is considered quite severe is lack of concentration and being easily irritated by things or people that would otherwise not have irritated them in the first place. At some point, a person may even feel jumpy (Simpson & Simpson 2002).
The best kind of treatment offered to people suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder include psychotherapy in which case these people can be talked to as well as medications. Sometimes either of these two forms of treatment is given in isolation and at times they are given as a package (Kinchin 2005). The extent to which people suffer from this condition is different and therefore the form of treatment varies from one individual to another. It is therefore important that people seek medical attention by visiting a psychiatrist in order to determine their level of illness so that they receive treatment that best suits them. Ongoing problems that serve as a triggers need to be addressed too so that the problem is contained.
References
England, D. (2009). The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Relationship: How to Support Your Partner and Keep Your Relationship Healthy. Avon: Adams Media.
Kinchin, D. (2005). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Invisible Injury. Oxford: Success Unlimited.
Simpson, C. & Simpson D. (2002). Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Dealing with Tragedy. New York: Rosen Publishing.
