What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
What is PTSD and the symptoms you may experiencing when dealing with this illness ?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people after witnessing a stunning, frightening, or hazardous incident. PTSD affects the majority of individuals who have witness death, crime, major accidents and many in the military.
Fear causes several split-second changes in the body to assist protect against or escape harm. This “fight-or-flight” response is a common reflex designed to keep a person safe.
Almost everyone will have a variety of reactions to trauma, but the majority of individuals will heal spontaneously from the initial symptoms. Those who continue to have issues may be labeled with PTSD. People suffering from PTSD may experience tension or fear even when they are not in danger.
Symptoms and Signs
While the majority of traumatized persons suffer short-term symptoms, the majority do not acquire long-term (chronic) PTSD. Not everyone who has PTSD has gone through a traumatic incident. Some events, such as the abrupt and unexpected loss of a loved one, can also result in PTSD.
Symptoms normally appear within three months of the stressful event, although they might appear years afterwards. To be classified as PTSD, symptoms must endure more than a month and be severe enough to interfere with relationships or job.
The illness's progression varies from person to person.
Some people heal after 6 months, while others experience symptoms for much longer. The problem can become chronic in certain persons. PTSD can be diagnosed by a clinician who has expertise treating persons with mental diseases, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist. An adult must exhibit all of the following symptoms for at least one month in order to be diagnosed with PTSD :
- At least one reoccurring symptom
- At least one symptom of avoidance
- At least two signs of cognition and mood
Some recurring symptoms may be as followed:
- Flashbacks : reliving the tragedy over and over again, accompanied by bodily symptoms such as a racing heart or sweating
- Sleepless nights : Waking up several times or dealing with severe insomnia
- Worrying thoughts : concerns about issues coming back to haunt you, recollecting memories of troubling incidents that may happen to you or members of your family.
Re-experiencing symptoms might disrupt a person’s daily routine. The symptoms may begin with the individual’s own ideas and feelings. Re-experiencing symptoms can also be triggered by words, things, or settings that serve as reminders of the incident.
Symptoms of avoidance include
Avoiding locations ( avoiding places where you witness accidents or trauma), activities, or items that serve as reminders of the painful experience. Avoiding thoughts or emotions associated with the unpleasant incident that happened months prior but feels like it repeats daily. Avoidance symptoms might be triggered by things that remind a person of the traumatic incident. These symptoms may prompt a person to alter his or her daily routine. After a terrible vehicle accident, for example, a person who typically drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.
Among the cognitive and mood symptoms may vary from time to time, depending on the triggers and recollective memories
Loss of enthusiasm for pleasurable activities
Cognition and mood symptoms can develop or worsen following a stressful incident, but they are not caused by injury or substance abuse. These symptoms might cause a person to feel alienated or distant from friends and family. Some of these symptoms are normal for a few weeks following a harmful occurrence.
PTSD may occur when symptoms continue longer than a month, substantially impair one’s capacity to function, and are not caused by substance abuse, physical disease, or anything other than the incident it self.Some patients with PTSD are asymptomatic for weeks or months. Depression, drug addiction, or one or more of the other anxiety disorders are frequently associated with PTSD.
Do youngsters react differently to symptoms of PTSD?
Children and teenagers can have severe reactions to trauma, although some of their symptoms may differ from those of adults. Symptoms that are occasionally noticed in very young children (less than 6 years old) include :
- After learning to use the toilet, wetting the bed
- Forgetting or being unable to speak
- Acting out the frightening experience during fun
- Being unusually attached to a parent or another adult
Older children and teenagers are more prone to have symptoms comparable to adults. They may also become disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive. Older children and teenagers may feel terrible for failing to avert injuries or fatalities, They may also have vengeful thoughts.
Factors of Risk to PTSD
This includes combat veterans, children, and those who have experienced physical or sexual assault, abuse, an accident, a natural catastrophe, or other traumatic occurrences. According to the National Center for PTSD, around 7 or 8 people out of every 100 will suffer from PTSD at some point in their life. Women are more likely than males to acquire PTSD, and heredity may predispose certain persons to get PTSD.
Not everyone who has PTSD has gone through a traumatic incident. Some people get PTSD when a friend or family member is threatened or injured. The untimely loss of a loved one might also result in PTSD.
Can various forms of PTSD exist and can be primarily based on toxic relationship ?
PTRS (Post Traumatic Relationship Syndrome)
PTRS is an anxiety condition that can develop after experiencing physical, emotional, or psychological abuse in the setting of an intimate partner relationship.
Former partners may have contradictory emotions as a result of the termination of a romantic engagement. Some spouses may feel relieved that their conflicts and bickering have come to an end. Others may feel unhappy, lonely, or nervous at the prospect of starting over without their previous spouse. It is totally natural to experience grief at the end of a relationship.
However, if you leave a relationship with heavy baggage, you should evaluate the likelihood that you are suffering from post-traumatic relationship disorder.
If you have symptoms that appear to be similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the intense negative feelings typically occur within the context of a relationship, the thought of entering a new relationship, when you reflect on your previous relationship, or exhibit a pronounced distrust of others and their intentions, you may be suffering from PTRS.
Post-Traumatic Relationship Syndrome (PTRS) is a novel mental health illness that develops after experiencing trauma in an intimate relationship.It has the intrusive and arousal symptoms of PTSD, but lacks the avoidance symptoms essential for a PTSD diagnosis owing to a totally different manner of dealing with the traumatized condition than that of those with PTSD. Unlike PTSD, PTRS is caused by fear, distrust, and trauma in a love relationship.
PTRS is an anxiety condition that can develop after experiencing physical, emotional, or psychological abuse in the setting of an intimate partner relationship. PTRS symptoms may include: intense anxiety or fury against a past spouse or future potential partners. Images/flashbacks of maltreatment sustained throughout the course of the relationship (which were not present before the trauma experienced during the relationship)
- Extreme psychological anguish
- Significant shifts in eating and sleeping patterns
- Significant weight changes/fluctuations
- Increased anxiety/restlessness
- Cognitive disruptions
- Problems with recall
- Hypervigilance
- Isolation from others Fear of deep relationships
- Problems with sexual performance
- Feeling threatened in the world
- Social support system breakdown
- a strong suspicion of others and their motives
Thus, PTRS refers to those who have experienced physical, sexual, or severe emotional abuse in the context of an intimate relationship and exhibit the symptoms listed above. PTRS is classified as a post traumatic illness since it develops alongside trauma and would not have happened if the person had not been exposed to the traumatic stressor (s).
Notably, the symptoms of PTRS are not as severe as those of PTSD because they lack the array of symptoms that define complex PTSD, such as detachment, danger of death, pathological alterations in identity, and so on. Clients with PTRS appear to be extremely brave, taking on more than they can take while failing to engage in necessary psychological self-protection.
Medication (which we DO NOT provide), psychotherapy (“talk” therapy), or both are the most common treatments for patients suffering with post traumatic experiences. Because everyone is unique and Post traumatic disorder affects everyone differently, a treatment that may work for one person may not work for another.
Anyone suffering from post traumatic disorder should get treatment from a PTSD-experienced licensed mental health professional. Some persons with post traumatic disorders may need to attempt a variety of therapies to discover the one that best fits their symptoms. A PTSD coach can assist someone with light symptoms related to the illness and suggest optimal ways to cope with some of the challenges the client may face when dealing with PTSD. A coach will NOT diagnose or treat PTSD, so the help of a licensed medical practitioner is recommended.
If a person with PTSD is experiencing persistent trauma, such as being in an abusive relationship, both issues must be addressed. Other persistent issues might include panic disorder, depression, drug misuse, and suicide ideation.
