Medical

What is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)?

AUTHOR : DR. SHRUTI

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a crucial mental disorder that gets develop after experiencing terrifying scary incidents example sexual assault, war, accident, and natural disaster, the sudden death of loved ones, crimes ,or any sort of abuse. It was initially also called “battle fatigue” or “shell shock”. It can be even life-threatening. Around the globe, it affects nearly 7-8% of the population and women are more prone to it. It is logical to get scared in any traumatic or terrifying situation and there “Flight or Fight” comes into play, either one fights oneself or flies away by avoiding it. Most common reactions that appear in a person with PTSD are nervousness, anxiety and fear. For some, these reactions initially fade away eventually while for others it may stay for even life-long.

Causes and Risk Factors leads to PTSD

Any agent/situation that exaggerates anxiety, shock can directly lead to PTSD.

Assault/Abuse/Rape
War
Accidents
Disasters
Sudden death
Terrorism
Hereditary or family history of anxiety
Low temperament
A stressful situation at home

PTSD can be developed at any age. It can be developed by any of the factors mentioned above or by the pool of factors.

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary from one person to another; they can’t be the same for every person. They are broadly categorized into 4 categories-

Re-experiencing symptom
Avoidance symptom
Arousal and reactivity symptom
Cognition and mood symptom

Re-experiencing Symptoms

It is also called Intrusive symptoms. It can even hamper a person’s daily routine by triggering these symptoms. It can even lead to detachment and even isolation for the patient. Examples are as follows:

Flashbacks or Hallucinations
Terrifying thoughts
Scary dreams or nightmares
Unwanted memories of the event

Avoidance Symptoms

These symptoms create fear in the person that he will not repeat that in his life in the fear. Examples are as follows:

Refusal to visit the place where the event happened
Keeping oneself away from

Arousal and Reactivity Symptoms

These symptoms make the person difficult to sleep and even concentrate which further makes him angry or annoying. Examples are as follows:

Difficulty sleeping
Tenses/stressed
Angry/annoying
Guilt or shame

Apart from that, I can even get high BP, heart rate, nausea or diarrhea.

Cognition and Mood Symptoms

These are not generally linked to an injury. This can make the person isolated due to his level of detachment. These symptoms become a hindrance for the person for making healthy relationships. Examples are as follows-

Guilt or blame games
No excitement level for his/her passion or hobbies
Negative thought process
Short term memory loss
Emotionally numb
High level of detachment
Depression/Phobia

Physical Symptoms

Dizziness, drowsiness, chest pain, stomach ache, heavy sweating, etc.
Tiredness, fatigue.

Symptoms in Child

Bedwetting
Stammering

Types of PTSD

It has 4 types namely:

Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
Dissociative PTSD
Uncomplicated PTSD
Comorbid PTSD

Diagnosis of PTSD

A person is diagnosed with PTSD by using Gold standard mark which is as follows; he/she should have the symptoms at-least for a month-

one re-experiencing symptom
one avoidance symptom
two arousal and reactivity symptoms
two cognition and mood symptoms

Why do some develop PTSD and others not? – Answer is due to the presence of risk factors such as unsupportive family, childhood abuse, trauma, sudden loss of loved one, mental illness, etc. These factors increase the chances of the development of PTSD.

Complications

PTSD can be even life-threatening or can destructively change one’s life. It can hamper one’s mood to his/her concentration abilities. There are a few complications are as follows- alcohol or substance abuse, poor concentration or memory, suicidal thoughts, depression.

Prevention

There are few measures that can help in preventing PTSD and are as follows-

open communication about one’s feeling
learning the courage to face fear
understanding to feel good about oneself
responding positively

Treatment

PTSD can be treated with the help of medications, counseling, and psychotherapy. There are combinations of treatments given usually.

Medications

Which are used for symptomatic treatment in PTSD. Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors are given such as paroxetine, citalopram, sertraline, etc. Some anti-depressants also play a major role in these patients as they help control anger, sadness, etc. Apart from this, some mood stabilizers are also added such as divalpore and lastly atypical antipsychotics.

Psychotherapy

It helps a person to manage his symptoms by increasing his coping capacity. There are many ways of psychotherapy, including:

Cognitive therapy- make the patient recognize and change their thought process.
Prolonged exposure therapy- It is exposing the patient to the incident or person again but in this, it is done in a controlled manner. Continuous exposure helps a patient to confront his/her fear that can further reduce his/her anxiety. It has proved its efficacy in many patients.
Psychodynamic therapy- It helps the patient focus on his values first.
Family therapy- It is very useful as the family is the first point of contact in each and every case.
Group therapy- It helps for giving patients the opportunity for open communication, to share his/her thoughts, feelings, etc.
EMDR (Eye Desensitization and Reprocessing)- It is a complex form. Now it is used to treat phobias only.

Apart from above, there are some experimental therapies such as Computer games, MDMA, and Cortisone hormone therapy.

Recovery from PTSD is a long process. Symptoms will usually disappear completely and make the patient attain the ability to manage his feelings and cope up with the atmosphere around him/her.

How can one help him/her after treatment? The answer to this is-

Take balanced diet
Do regular yoga or exercise
Spend time with family
Positive thinking

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What is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)?

Causes and Risk Factors leads to PTSD