Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay

Post- traumatic stress disorder most commonly known as PTSD is an extended emotional response to a traumatic event. PTSD can occur following the experience of a life threatening event such as physical or sexual assault in childhood or adulthood, military combat, terrorist incidents, natural disasters, and serious accidents. You may often relieve the experience through nightmares or flashbacks, feel detached or estranged, and have difficulty sleeping. These symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to greatly impair the person’s daily life. PTSD is marked by psychological symptoms as well as clear biological changes. This disorder can also be complicated because you may develop more disorders such as substance abuse, depression, memory

Re-experiencing symptoms are symptoms of reliving the traumatic event. There are many ways that a person can relive a trauma. Re-experiencing symptoms may be triggered by a traumatic reminder such as: something loud such as fireworks that can trigger a combat veteran to relive a certain memory that was life threatening. These memories can cause physical and emotional reactions. And they can feel so real it’s as if the event is actually happening again, which is called a flashback. When they relive these events it causes helplessness, and feelings of fear similar to the feelings that they had when the event took place. Avoidance and numbing symptoms are ways to avoid a traumatic event. PTSD individuals may try to avoid places where the event took place, news reports about events similar to theirs, avoids sounds, sights, or people that are reminders. Numbing symptoms may cause individuals to isolate themselves and feel emotionally numb. They may also find it difficult to be in touch with their feeling or express their emotions toward other people. Anyone who suffers from PTSD may also have other conditions such as: anxiety, depression, and substance