Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Sense of Decay

PTSD: a Sense of Decay

Aubrie M.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Sowing the Seeds PTSD is a mental disease that affects thousands of people each day. It is hard to diagnose, even harder to cure, and impossible to eradicate. Now, if you believe that people PTSD are “pretenders, trying to get sympathy, or simply stupid” you are completely wrong.

Anyone can get PTSD, and anyone can cause it. PTSD is a life-debilitating disease with no true “cure”. Even the most mentally stable people can get PTSD, and go into alcoholism, depression, or even completely shut down. PTSD is not a disease to be taken lightly, and anyone who says “get over it” needs to experience PTSD for themselves. It is not a simple disease like a cold or the flu that can be cured with medicine of time. PTSD is like fog. It shadows our thoughts, makes us prone to weakness, and clouds our minds. However, not everything is black-and-white. PTG, or post -traumatic growth, was actually experienced by R.J Tolkien's while writing, The Lord of the Rings. He was able to turn his traumatic experience into writing that taught us more about loss, love, and responsibility. PTG is the ability to recover, and even grow from the effects of PTSD. PTG is mainly classified as “The subjective experience of positive psychological change reported by an individual as a result of the struggle with trauma.” Another notable figure with PTSD was Whoopi Goldberg, who witnessed two planes crash as a child and has had notable panic attacks while boarding planes. Whoopi is now a well-known actress and comedian. Going through PTSD can expand someone's horizons to new options, open new doors, or even offer inspiration to create great works of art, literature, or music.

PTG expands understanding of people with similar problems, and allows room for new leaves to spread free from the rotting stump of PTSD.

Budding Curiosity: “For centuries, man

has pondered what sustains the human spirit in times of extreme adversity.

Many ancient traditions speak of the potential for transcending suffering and transforming it into a resource for internal strength and growth. “

Sprouting the Sapling: The beginnings of PTSD P.T.S.D

Post-

matic event, however it can

traumatic stress disorder, is a

occur after watching a trau-

condition that results from the

matic event, or after a loved

imbalance of the fight-or flight

one has gone through a trau-

reaction. The fight-or-flight re-

matic event. For instance, one

action is when any animal’s

case study of a war veteran,

amygdala secretes the hor-

Mick, recounts his experience

mone Adrenal Medulla. This

with PTSD. His company of

hormone causes the heart to

soldiers were tasked with kill-

race, memories to become

ing an entire village of people.

sharper, pupils to dilate, and

“Homes burnt down, people

blood to rush to the muscles,

screaming, many of them with

basically readying the affected

terrible injuries or crying over

creature to run, or fight. This

the body of a dead loved

reaction

originally

one.” This was the original

adapted for life in the early

traumatic event. This caused

days of human-hood. “Our

him to begin to gain the symp-

heart is not open. Our rational

toms of PTSD. Mick ended up

mind is disengaged. Our con-

going into alcohol as a coping

sciousness is focused on fear,

mechanism,

not love. Making clear choices

couldn’t even go out of the

and recognizing the conse-

house. Fortunately, with sup-

quences of those choices is un-

port from family and a thera-

feasible. We are focused on

pist, Mick is getting better, but

short-term survival, not the

may never be the same as he

long-term consequences of our

once was. Mick is just one out

beliefs and choices.”

of hundreds of people who

was

or

When

this delicate reaction is damaged in that affected person or the reaction is overly severe, it can cause PTSD. PTSD is most often developed after a person has gone through a trau-

get PTSD.

and

sometimes

PTSD cannot be truly “cured” however, it’s symptoms can be lessened or even solved.

Those who believe PTSD is something that could be solved with a simple pill, or something that people just need to “get over” are completely wrong. PTSD is not like a bacteria or virus. PTSD resides in the deepest corners of the affected mind, planting doubt and insecurity.

However, PTSD is not “incurable”. With the help of some medications, medicinal drugs, a psychotherapist, or even your loved ones, PTSD symptoms can be helped, or even overcome. One way to ‘fix’ PTSD is to not get it in the first place. Our body actually has a built-in antidote to stress. It is called the Relaxation Response. Activating the RR dramatically decreases anyone’s normal, daily stress level, and is easy to activate manually. Simple things like taking a bath, taking a walk by a river or in the woods, or even listening to certain types of music can activate the RR. Another way to activate it is to simply sit, and think of a single word or phrase, or even song, that comes to mind. Activating the RR releases the hormone exactly opposite of adrenaline. This hormone slows the heartbeat, quiets the mind, and relaxes any tension.

Practicing eliciting this response could help to remediate symptoms of PTSD in the future.

Symptoms: PTSD symptoms are categorized into three groups: re experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyper arousal symptoms.

Re-experiencing symptoms are symptoms that cause the affected to “re-live” the traumatic effect. They include flashbacks, bad dreams, and frightening thoughts. A v o i d a n c e symptoms cause the affected to avoid something similar to the traumatic event. They include feeling guilt or depression, losing interest in past hobbies, and having trouble remembering the said event.

The last category of symptoms are the hyper arousal symptoms. They include: having angry outbursts, feeling “on edge”, and being easily startled. One last, separate symptom of PTSD are panic attacks. A panic attack could happen at any time when something that reminds you of the traumatic event occurs. For instance, a survivor of 9/11 getting on a plane, or a war veteran and the booms of fireworks on the Fourth of July.

All three groups of symptoms can have lasting effects on the affected person’s life. Different cases of PTSD have different symptoms. No case of PTSD is exactly the same.

One person could have Bad dreams and flashbacks, however would not be “On edge”. While another could be constantly paranoid, but that person’s fears would never visit them at night. To be diagnosed as a true case of PTSD, the affected must have: At least one re-experiencing symptom, at least one avoidance symptom, and at least two hyper arousal symptoms for over one month. Children react differently to PTSD than adults do. Children who experience PTSD might be unusually clingy, might wet the bed after toilet-training, or might even forget how to, or be unable to talk.

Risk Factors: Anyone can get PTSD, but there are certain factors that increase or decrease the risk of PTSD. For instance, living through dangerous events and traumas, having a history of mental illness, getting hurt/ seeing people hurt or killed, feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear, having little or no social support after the event, and dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and injury, or loss of a job or home, can increase the chance that the PTSD inducing event will actually have an effect on the traumatized. However, seeking out support from other people such as friends and family, finding a support group after said traumatic event, feeling good about one’s own actions in the face of danger, and having a coping strategy are great ways to reduce possible PTSD risk factors. The most likely age group to get PTSD are 30-50 year olds, however PTSD stretches over many age groups, from 2-5, to 90-100.

Studies also show that women are more likely to gain symptoms of PTSD than men, however genes also play a large part in PTSD. Keep in mind that not everyone that has PTSD has gone through a traumatic event. The sudden death of a loved one can also cause PTSD in some cases.

CONCLUSION: PTSD is a debilitating disease that plants seeds of doubt, and paves the way for multitudes of other psychological diseases. It sows the field for depression, addiction, and anxiety. PTSD is a rotten stump. It is stubborn, ugly, and ruins everything around it. Life sows the seeds, and stress is the axe. PTSD can fester and grow inside, and never rear its ugly face to the outer world. However, when PTSD is solved, it leaves behind the basis for new growth, new understanding, and new experiences. Nothing is always black-and-white.

“To protect ourselves in a world of psychological— rather than physical— danger, we must consciously pay attention to unique signals telling us whether we are actually in fight or flight. Some of us may experience these signals as physical symptoms like tension in our muscles, headache, upset stomach, racing heartbeat, deep sighing or shallow breathing.

Others may experience them as emotional or psychological symptoms such as anxiety, poor concentration, depression, hopelessness, frustration, anger, sadness or fear. “