Abstract
Several people have gone through stressful events at one point in their lives. It is almost inevitable for anyone to go through his or her entire life without experiencing a stressful situation. The unfortunate thing about people and stress is that not everyone’s experiences of stress give forth the same outcomes. Stress for some people is not such a big deal while for some it may lead to very negative health outcomes. One such negative health result of a stressful life situation is the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder best known in its abbreviated form as PTSD affects the emotional and behavioral well being of an individual and if not put under check through physiotherapeutic or pharmacological treatment methods, may lead to social dysfunction of an individual. On the other hand, if pharmacological treatment is not put under check, it can lead to dependency or even addiction.
Introduction
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder abbreviated as PTSD is the resultant emotional and behavioral defects are brought about by stressful life situations (Ursano, Bell, Eth, Friedman, Norwood, Pfefferbaum, Pynoos, Zatzick & Benedek, 2010). Many diagnostic methodologies and models have been developed to identify cases of PTSD and so are the pharmacological recommendations and solutions that are meant to treat the condition. Such pharmacological recommendations have included the use of clinical drugs like serotonin inhibitors and antidepressants. The unfortunate bit about the use of these drugs is that an individual can become totally dependent on them in the long run instead of personally managing stress normally. As a personal SMART goal, my intention is to achieve a pharmacological Independent management of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in my life. This write-up documents a guiding chart that illustrates specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic milestones within an achievable timeframe.Setting and implementing goals relative to the intended objectives can help an individual attain success in the particular goals he or she intends to achieve . The objectivity of a goal must be aligned within parameters that are specific, measurable, and attainable. Besides, to ensure that it does not take forever to achieve those goals realistic, a time restriction or deadline is necessary. To avoid setting the bar too high such that achieving the goal seems demoralizing than encouraging; the milestones should be set in such a way that they are easily attainable and are realistic. The Milestones also need to be measurable, such that the sum of the expected achievements within a specified time frame can be documented against what is achievable within that time frame. Correlating the targets of goals to parameters such as specificity, measurability, attainability, reality and time frame can thus help an individual understand what he or she needs to do and how best to do it . Such an approach at goal setting can also help the individual to outline the long-term implications of such a goal and clarify on the possible intended outcomes .
The table below indicates the parameter for which my goal setting process is based upon.
In summary, I have come to the realization that continued use of pharmacological treatment option in managing my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will not only be unhealthy in the long term but may also increase my dependency on the use of such medications. The good thing is that, other forms of treatment that are preventive, curative, and harmless exist. These alternative forms of PTSD management and treatment can be done throughout one’s entire lifetime without causing harm. In fact, an option such as physical exercise improves the general health outcomes of the individual participating in it. Having a support group also ensures that a person is surrounded by a team of individuals that he or she is accountable to and as a result may put all efforts to be true. I believe it is possible to manage the occurrence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder without the necessity of using pharmacological treatments such as the use of serotonin inhibitors and or antidepressants. I am on the verge of attaining such a lifestyle and with the depiction of my chart above, I have faith that I will manage to achieve this goal.
References
Bryan, W., & DiMartino, J. (2010). Writing Goals and Objectives: A Guide for Grantees of the Smaller Learning Communities Program. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.
Lawlor, K. B., & Hornyak, M. J. (2012). Smart Goals: How the Application of Smart Goals can Contribute to Achievement of Student Learning Outcomes. Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning , 39, 259-267.
Ursano, R. J., Bell, C., Eth, S., Friedman, M., Norwood, A., Pfefferbaum, B., et al. (2010). Practice Guideline For The Treatment of Patients With Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. American Psychiatric Association.
