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PTSD- From Web MD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), once called shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome, is a serious condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster. Families of victims can also develop post-traumatic stress disorder, as can emergency personnel and rescue workers.
Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. These reactions are common; and for most people, they go away over time. For a person with PTSD, however, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life. People with PTSD have symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as before the event occurred.
Normal life includes some anxiety and fear. In a stressful situation, your brain triggers a flood of chemicals into your bloodstream. Your heart beats faster; your breath becomes shallow and rapid; your muscles tense; your mind goes on full alert. It's all part of your inborn reaction to a threat: You're ready to flee or fight. Sometimes anxiety and fear linger on and on. The feelings can be overwhelming. When they interfere with normal activities, there's a problem. Doctors call this kind of problem...
What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?
Symptoms of PTSD most often begin within three months of the event. In some cases, however, they do not begin until years later. The severity and duration of the illness vary. Some people recover within six months, while others suffer much longer.
Symptoms of PTSD often are grouped into three main categories, including:
- Re-living: People with PTSD repeatedly re-live the ordeal through thoughts and memories of the trauma. These may include flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. They also may feel great distress when certain things remind them of the trauma, such as the anniversary date of the event.
- Avoiding: The person may avoid people, places, thoughts, or situations that may remind him or her of the trauma. This can lead to feelings of detachment and isolation from family and friends, as well as a loss of interest in activities that the person once enjoyed.
- Increased arousal: These include excessive emotions; problems relating to others, including feeling or showing affection; difficulty falling or staying asleep; irritability; outbursts of anger; difficulty concentrating; and being "jumpy" or easily startled. The person may also suffer physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, and diarrhea.
Young children with PTSD may suffer from delayed development in areas such as toilet training, motor skills, and language.
How Common Is PTSD?
About 3.6% of adult Americans -- about 5.2 million people -- suffer from PTSD during the course of a year, and an estimated 7.8 million Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. PTSD can develop at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than are men. This may be due to the fact that women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, abuse, and rape.
It was not until recently that the general population found out what PTSD is about. Brought to light by the recent Golf Wars and the events of 9/11. There has been an awareness campaign for those affected by the 9/11 tragedies, as well as, the large number of military personnel now dealing with the aftermath of what they have seen while at war. However, what I don't think a lot of people know is that ANY type of major trauma can cause this same disorder to develop, and of course "major trauma" is more defined by the victim and their reaction then details of the event itself. Thereby making PTSD much like depression in that it is easily over looked by those around you. A person who has suffered at the hands of an abusive partner can develop PTSD that is seen by friends and family simply as an inability to move on. "I don't know why she can't just get over it." I have head people say. The truth, as seen in the definition above from WebMD, abuse as an adult or a child, rape, molestation, traumatic loss of a loved one, or any other trauma or shock can cause symptoms of PTSD to appear.
After having an emotionally abusive boyfrined as a teenager, I had some residual fears, often nightmares, and anxiety issues. It wasn't until I was in college that the pieces all started to fit together. I began having full fledged panic attacks, smoking, acting in self distinctive ways, and slipping into a depression that kept me from getting up some mornings, making it hard to continue with classes. I eventually ended up in an ER and then a crisis center. Soon after I left school for the semester, and began counseling, taking Prozac, Klonopin, and something else, but frankly that time period is still slightly blurry for me. My counselor diagnosed me with PTSD from my abuse. Along with the PTSD came a diagnosis of clinical depression, and an anxiety disorder. Day to functioning became difficult. The semester I did return to school I ended up taking incomplete in every class. I was reckless, stopped eating, I stopped using reason and started going strictly on impulse. I am thankful I had a good therapist at the time. Through weekly sessions, teaching of relaxation techniques, some art therapy, and working on changing how I saw and reacted to the world around me, I began to be able to function on a higher level. While I still occasionally have the dreams (especially when I feel like someone else is controlling my life) I still fight the desire to fight or run away when ever threatened, and I still deal with anxiety and depression, I have been able to put much or the PTSD behind me.
I see it in Chuck though. In less than a 10 year time span he has lost both parents, a child,been divorced, watched his little girl move out of his house and to a state to far away for him to visit her regularly, has had people lie to him, manipulate him, and use his children against him in ways I find incomprehensible. I have watched him withdrawal from me, from his children, and what little family he has left. I have felt him cling to me and our family so tightly that I thought it would be more than we could take. I have seen him depressed and on Xanax, hands shaking. I have seen him not be able to move forward from this trauma. I have watched and listened as he talked about feeling weak, or helpless. I hear the anger in his voice, and the hopelessness. It saddens me, and it makes it hard to reach him, talk to him in a reasonable way. I realize now the frustration my friends and family felt in dealing with me those years when I was unreachable. I want to help him. Show him there IS hope. Show him this time he will NOT be left behind to fend for himself dealing with a mess he did not create. No one is going to take his baby girl again. We are solid. We are a family. What he is feeling, and fearing is from the past not the present. But I can not reach him until he returns to the present. So I will wait her for him.
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