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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious accident, natural disaster, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault. In the past, PTSD went by different names. During and right after the years of World War 1, the […]
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious accident, natural disaster, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.
In the past, PTSD went by different names. During and right after the years of World War 1, the term “shell shock” was often used. After World War 2, “combat fatigue” was the term that signified a reaction to a high level of stress or trauma.
It’s important to mention that PTSD is not experienced only by combat veterans, but can occur in all people. According to PTSD United, an estimated 24.4 million people in the United States have PTSD at any given time. That is equal to the total population of Texas.
What is it Like to Have PTSD?
Sufferers of PTSD continue to have intense and disturbing thoughts and feelings regarding the traumatic experiencing. Though the event itself may have taken place weeks, months or even years ago, the thoughts and feelings are fresh in the person’s mind. They may relive events through flashbacks or nightmares.
Often individuals feel isolated and detached from other people, and take great measures to avoid situations that may remind them of the traumatic event. They may even have strong, negative reactions to ordinary experiences that involve noises or an accidental touch.
Symptoms of PTSD
Symptoms of PTSD fall into four categories and can vary in severity from individual to individual.
Intrusive thoughts can take many forms: involuntary memories, nightmares and flashbacks are commonly experienced by those with PTSD. These thoughts can be so completely vivid that the individual fully believes they are reliving the traumatic experience in the moment.
Avoiding any and all reminders of the traumatic event typically requires the individual to avoid people, places, activities and situations that can bring on disturbing memories and thoughts. Individuals may also avoid conversations about the experience and lash out at those who ask if they want to talk about it.
It is common for those with PTSD to have distorted thoughts and beliefs about themselves or others, ongoing fear, anger, guilt or shame. These thoughts can look like, “I am a bad person,” “I can’t trust anyone,” or “I should have died, not her.” As a result of these distortions, individuals often have less interest in activities they once enjoyed and also begin to feel detached or estranged from loved others.
Reactive behavior associated with PTSD can include having angry outbursts, becoming easily irritable, behaving recklessly or in a self-destructive way, being easily startled, or having problems concentrating or sleeping.
Many people who experience a traumatic event may experience symptoms like these in the days following the event. However, people with PTSD will experience these symptoms for months and even years. PTSD often occurs with other related conditions, such as depression, substance use, memory problems and other physical and mental health problems.
If you or someone you know is living with PTSD and is interested in exploring treatment, please contact me today. I would be happy to speak with you about how I may be able to help.
According to Wikipedia, “The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) is a research study conducted by the U.S. health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants were recruited to the study between 1995 and 1997 and have been in long-term follow up for health outcomes. The study has demonstrated an association of adverse childhood experiences […]
According to Wikipedia, “The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) is a research study conducted by the U.S. health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants were recruited to the study between 1995 and 1997 and have been in long-term follow up for health outcomes. The study has demonstrated an association of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (aka childhood trauma) with health and social problems across the lifespan. ”
Examples of Adverse childhood experiences include
As researchers followed participants over time, they discovered that a person’s cumulative ACE score has a strong, graded relationship to numerous health, social, and behavioral problems throughout their lifespan, including substance use disorders. Higher ACE scores demonstrate increased adverse childhood experiences as rated by participants.
High Adverse Childhood Experience scores have been shown to correlate with
If you would like more information about how childhood experiences may affect you or someone you know and how resiliency factors can affect your life feel free to contact me today for further information or follow the links listed below.
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, September 24). Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:40, October 16, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adverse_Childhood_Experiences_Study&oldid=917630334
Riopel, L (2019, January)Resilience Skills, Factors and Strategies of the Resilient Person (Blog Post) Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/resilience-skills/
American psychological association. 2018. The Road to Resilience. [Online]. [18 December 2018]. Available from: https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, October 13). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:10, October 16, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention&oldid=921094460
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, October 15). Childhood trauma. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:37, October 16, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Childhood_trauma&oldid=921307878
Some common anxiety symptoms include shortness of breath, increased heart rate, shaking, sweating and dizziness. Since anxiety manifests in the body many common treatments for anxiety include things such as meditating, relaxation breathing, yoga and practicing calming visualization or mindfulness techniques. You may wonder how cognitive therapy or talk therapy in general can help with […]
Some common anxiety symptoms include shortness of breath, increased heart rate, shaking, sweating and dizziness. Since anxiety manifests in the body many common treatments for anxiety include things such as meditating, relaxation breathing, yoga and practicing calming visualization or mindfulness techniques. You may wonder how cognitive therapy or talk therapy in general can help with decreasing anxiety given these physiological symptoms and emotional feelings caused by anxiety. Edmund J. Bourne PhD and author of the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook Sixth edition offers some examples of self talk that contributes to anxiety. According to Bourne, these thought patterns include such things as overestimating a negative outcome, catastrophic thinking or making something bigger than it actually is and underestimating your ability to cope with a feared or real outcome. Looking at anxiety producing thoughts and asking ourselves what evidence these thoughts contain is another strategy for dealing with anxiety. Sometimes anxiety producing thoughts are about future outcomes or what if thinking. We may fear something will go wrong but we do not know that it will happen or we may predict that we will not be able to cope when it does happen. By looking at the evidence of our thoughts or predictions we may come to the conclusion that our fears are exaggerated. One reason that talk therapy may help with anxiety is that our emotions and experiences can be triggers for anxiety. Being in a situation that reminds us of something unpleasant can cause our anxiety to resurface without our awareness of why we are feeling anxious. Talking about our experiences in therapy can help us to reprocess events so we are less triggered by these events without our awareness. Talking with a therapist about your anxiety concerns can help because of the individualized treatment provided through therapy and the ability to address what you are feeling directly as it applies to your individual situation.