How to Deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of PTSD
67Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious mental condition wherein a person suffers flashback episodes of traumatic events that happened in the past. PTSD may affect anyone regardless of age. A person doesn’t have to be physically hurt in order to acquire PTSD; he could also witness other people being hurt, murdered or physically abused and develop PTSD as well
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can Affect Anyone
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects both men and women, young and old. A young child riding on a car driven by a reckless driver may develop PTSD and avoid riding a vehicle. A war veteran may be suffering from PTSD as a result of his war experiences; and a teen-ager may develop PTSD as a result of embarrasing moments in school such as being bullied in class or being laughed at by schoolmates during class recitations or presentations.
Causes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD may occur as a result of the following tragic events:
- Car accidents
- Physical injury or abuse
- Hurricane or typhoon
- Fire
- Violence
- Robbery
- Death or serious illnesses of a loved one
- Broken relationship
- Embarassing and humiliating incidents, and
- War
Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Frequent bad dreams
- Excessive worrying
- Guilty feelings
- Avoiding a certain place or event
- Flashback thoughts of the past
- Insomnia or trouble in sleeping
- Thoughts of hurting oneself
- Uncontrolled thoughts
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Can Be Treated
You can feel better because PTSD can be treated. If you observed the symptoms mentioned above, consult your physician; he can help you with your problem by assessing other health problems, If no other health problems are found, your doctor may refer you to a mental health specialist for further treatment. In most cases, a combination of both medicines and psychotherapy are prescribed to people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
For psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy may be given to help the patient cope with the situation. In some cases, exposure therapy are also used under supervision and guide the patient on how to overcome and control the situation. It is also best to do some relaxation techniques and other natural methods of treatment for such mental health disorder. Just ensure to give this mental illness proper medical attention as it may also lead to other complications like panic attacks, phobias, anxiety disorder and depression.
With proper treatment, PTSD are generally overcome and completely eliminated over time. The most crucial part of treatment is on early stage of development right after the tragic event that caused the PTSD to occur.
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Good hub! I can relate to it since I once had my share, though that was just an anxiety attack.
Thanks for appreciating this hub Annieloulaurel. I hope you have successfully overcome your anxiety attack
I love your hub. I totally agree with you that "a person doesn't have to be physically hurt to acquire PTSD". You gave great examples of episodes before the onset of PTSD. I only disagree with you on one point: PTSD can be cured. While I think that PTSD can be controlled with medication and psychotherapy; I believe that it's always there. It may lie dormant for months, or years, but it will flare up, when you least expect it. Great hub!
Hi Carolyn
Thanks for your comments and useful insights. You are right, "cured" is not the right word to say but rather it can be overcome and make it dormant. The memory of the experience will always remain. It just a matter of how you manage the flashbacks of painful memories. Cheers
Thank you for covering this important subject in a way that gives hope. I am familiar with EMDR as a non-drug therapy. While I have no experience with therapy dogs, a friend of mine has a service dog.
You did a nice job breaking down what PTSD is and it's symptoms. I was diagnosed with it because of a chaotic childhood and because I had open heart surgery in 7th grade. Although it never completely goes away, you can learn skills to reduce symptoms. I went to therapy and did some biofeedback. I also meditate and am on meds. I hit many buttons.
Thanks for the vote up Minnetonka Twin. I hope you will fully recover from it. It may go back from time to time, but what is really important is to be able to learn how to manage it the moment those traumatic flashbacks occur.
A therapy dog serves to keep your thoughts out of the bad memories in the past. This is great for mind diversion, which is also applicable to other pets. You may also opt to go out with friends and loved ones more often. Thanks for the feedback kschimmel.
\Brenda Scully 2 years ago
nice hub, this is not a condition, and your sensitive approach to it was good, will read more of your hubs