Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
There are several of factors, majorly associated with biological, spiritual and psychological disturbance, which pose as scourging experiences that confront people or an entire community and almost always amount to traumatic stress. When the traumatic stress reactions become persistent and debilitating, they cease to be normal reactions, and hence they become Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Gill, Saligan, Henderson & Szanton, 2009). Technically, PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that affects as many as one in fourteen adults and adolescents at some time in their lives (Kar, 2011), and Gill et al. (2009), further explain that PTSD can be classified as an anxiety disorder, unremarkably witnessed in primary care patients.
PTSD is typically affiliated with enfeebling psychological and physical health descents, and in conjunction to this, there are various traumatic events that lead to development of the disorder (Gill et al., 2009; McFarlane & Bryant, 2007). In line with this, Gill et al. (2009) classify the traumatic events into different categories; episodic assaultive violence, which encompasses rape and other sexual assaults, repeated assaultive violence that involves war and combat exposure, witnessed events, learned events of close friends or relatives and other injury or distressing experiences. Conventionally, various signs of psychological dysfunction may signal that an individual is suffering from PTSD; somatic distress, depression, social withdrawal, performance deterioration in a work place, excessive use of alcohol and interpersonal and/or family feud (McFarlane & Bryant, 2007). Besides, Gill et al. (2009) affirm that PTSD has three cardinal symptoms, which include; re-experiencing of the trauma depicted through nightmares, flashbacks and memories, avoidance of internal and external reminds related to the trauma and increased arousal, which is delineated through hyper-vigilance, irritability, insomnia, and impaired concentration.
Different intervention measures have been put in place in order to prevent this disorder, and treating patients with this type of disorder may include prescribing relevant medication, and referral for individual or group psychotherapy (Gill et al., 2009). Referral of patients to psychotherapy may be attributed to failure in medication management or reports on any suicidal or homicidal cerebration (Gill et al., 2009). The first step always taken in the management of PTSD is screening, which mostly involves and considers the etiological aspects of the disorder (McFarlane & Bryant, 2007). Further, screening also aids in identifying the individual risks associated with PTSD, and it only becomes effective if it amounts to implementation of treatment (McFarlane & Bryant, 2007). Apart from screening, differential diagnosis is also utterly essential, and it is always carried out when PTSD case is perceived to be extreme (McFarlane & Bryant, 2007). Nonetheless, pharmacologic and short-term psychological therapies provide early intervention methods to the disorder (Gill et al., 2009). On his part, Kar (2011) attests that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is yet another fundamental treatment option for PTSD. CBT address issues pertaining to lack of control and unpredictability inherent in traumatic situations, thus making it remarkably effective in managing PTSD (Kar, 2011).
Concisely, PTSD is a condition that follows a traumatic stress. The disorder affects an individual either physically or psychologically, and sometimes both. Early identification of the disorder, and timely referral to mental health providers, may help contain the situation at an early stage and even substantially reduce medical expenses. Moreover, there are different intervention methods that can be used in managing the disorder, contingent on the stage or extent of the disorder.
References
Gill, J., Saligan, N. L., Henderson, A. W. & Szanton, S. (2009). PTSD: Knowing the Warning Signs. The Nurse Practitioner, 34, 30-37. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/pdf.asp?AID=927812.
Kar, N. (2011). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 7, 167–181. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S10389.
McFarlane, C. A. & Bryant, A. R. (2007). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Occupational Settings: Anticipating and Managing the Risk. Occupational Medicine, 57, 404–410. doi:10.1093/occmed/kqm070.
