Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Case Studies

Affected by Mental Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects many people in the United States. Once affected it can either be Acute or Chronic. Acute would be a period of six months or less and Chronic is six or more months sometimes it can be lifelong. For starters a psychiatrist must diagnose you with it a primary care doctor could refer you to a therapist if anything is suspected. After a session with the therapist then he/she could say you need to see a psychiatrist whether it be in person or a video session. Once the doctor has the session with the individual they are then able to prescribe medication in order to reduce some of the symptoms. Symptoms may include strong and unwanted memories of the event, bad dreams, emotional numbness,

This is so they can be ready to protect themselves in case of an event for someone with PTSD something normal to someone without it could be the scariest thing they see that day. Somehow that normal everyday even triggered what has happened to the person and they can have breakdown after the occurrence. At first post-traumatic stress disorder could be mistaken for borderline personality disorder but it all depends on the viewing of the symptoms (Familytreecounseling). Clinicians should assess for PTSD specifically, keeping in mind that chronic trauma survivors may experience any of the following difficulties: Survivors may avoid thinking and talking about trauma-related topics because the feelings associated with the trauma are often overwhelming. Survivors may use alcohol or other substances as a way to avoid and numb feelings and thoughts related to the trauma. Survivors may engage in self-mutilation and other forms of self-harm. Survivors who have been abused repeatedly are sometimes mistaken as having a "weak character" or are unjustly blamed for the symptoms they experience as a result of victimization (U. S Department of Veterans Affairs). The most significant neurological impact of trauma is seen in the hippocampus. PTSD patients show a considerable reduction in the volume of the hippocampus. This region of the brain is responsible for memory functions. It helps an individual to record new memories and retrieve them later in response to specific and relevant environmental stimuli. The hippocampus also helps us distinguish between past and present memories. Severe emotional trauma causes lasting changes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex region of the brain that is responsible for regulating emotional responses triggered by the amygdala. Specifically, this region regulates negative emotions like fear that occur when confronted with specific