Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - a2zeelifestyle

What is PTSD? Before answering this question one must have to know that trauma is a psychiatric condition which stems from either experiencing any incident, witnessing such wars, any act of terrorism, or being subject to bodily harm, rape, or threats about these.

When someone experiences/witnesses something heinous and absurd happening in their brain engenders a feeling of sadness or shock called trauma, these traumas are sometimes temporary and can get better as time goes by and with some help, but if these traumas kept on haunting for months or years then a person may be the victim of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

PTSD has been given many names during WWI, it was known as shell shock, and in the aftermath of WWII, it was called combat fatigue. As PTSD is not limited to war veterans only, anyone who has been subjected to mental, or physical torture can develop PTSD. PTSD is not associated with a single race, religion, culture, or gender; cases differ from person to person and society to society.

What are the symptoms of PTSD? In some persons, PTSD symptoms may appear within weeks or months after being exposed, while some won’t show any symptoms for years. If diagnosed earlier mild symptoms can get better with some time, help and care, severe symptoms need to be catered to by a professional. PTSD can have a toll on the victim and sometimes they aren’t unable to live their normal life.

What are the types of PTSD Symptoms?

In general PTSD symptoms are divided into 4 types depending upon the condition:

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Intruding thoughts Aversion Negative approach

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Altered physical and emotional behavior

Intruding thoughts: Unintentional, involuntary thoughts and memories of the trauma are one of the most common and strongest symptoms. These thoughts enforce such an impact that victims started having nightmares or flashbacks so strong altering their reality. Such intrusive thoughts and memories can trigger a severe or sometimes violent reaction towards someone/something that reminds of the incident.

Aversion: Aversion or avoidance is the intentional or unintentional reaction of evading any person, place, activity, scenarios, or things which are in any way related to the trauma and seeing or hearing about them can cause disturbance and disrupt mood. Avoidance also includes talking about the trauma or their feelings because of their vulnerable state.

Negative approach: When a person suffers from an incident directly to the trauma distorted their thinking; often wrongfully blame themselves or others for whatever happened.

Due to their inability to trust themselves or anyone they feel detached from friends and family, they feel sad, can’t take part in activities, are uncertain about their future, find it difficult to trust anyone, with their confidence gone and incapability to trust it also is difficult to bond with someone.

Altered physical and mental behavior: Because the person suffering from PTSD had an encounter so unpleasant and devastating it alters their physical and mental behavior completely, often changing the person altogether. Since the victim thinks that whatever happened was either their fault or someone else’s they become extra alert and can easily be frightened or shocked and because of such sudden reactions, aggression and angry outbursts can happen.

Another thing that has been observed is the victims’ reckless behavior by either drowning them in alcohol or drugs or displaying acts of endangerment such as driving recklessly and inflicting pain on others or oneself.

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