People exposed to traumatic incidents like war, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidents, physical or sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse or life threats can develop PTSD. It generally appears within 1-3 months after the incident and can be cured with medical intervention.
PTSD has been found to affect at least 3.5% (approx. 5.2 million persons) of the total American population each year and 0.5-1% of the worldwide population, with many others who develop PTSD at any point in their lifetime.
Causes
The scientific cause of developing PTSD is still unknown, but doctors suspect most PTSD is triggered by a mix of the following factors:
- Traumatic experiences that leave deep emotional scarring.
- History of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, fetal alcoholic mothers etc., in the family.
- The personality of a person and their coping capabilities.
- Inherent brain functions of the chemical and hormonal systems in response to stress.
Risk factors
The following are at risk of developing PTSD:
- People with a personal or family history of depression or other mental ailments.
- People associated with professions that expose them to violent environments, like emergency workers, military professionals, medical staff, sailors, journalists, automobile drivers, racers etc.
- People with a history of substance abuse and drinking problems.
Women are more prone to PTSD symptoms than men as they are more exposed to domestic violence than men.
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms have been broadly divided into four basic types that vary from person to person.
1. Intrusive memories
- Flashbacks of the incident.
- Nightmares and dreams of the incident cause loss of sleep.
- Recurrent memories of the event result in acute emotional and physical distress.
2. Avoidance
- Evade places, persons, activities, and situations that rekindle thoughts of the event.
- Not to talk or think about the incident overall.
3. Negative changes in mood and thoughts
- Hopelessness
- Amnesia, especially about things connected with the incident.
- Keeping distance from friends and family.
- Losing interest in hobbies and other enjoyable activities.
- No plans for the future.
- Unable to nurture any close relationships.
- Thinking negatively about oneself and the people around.
- A permanently frozen emotional state.
4. Physical and emotional changes in reaction
- Constantly being on edge
- Easily startled
- Aggressive
- Easily irritated
- Angry outbursts
- Sleeplessness
- Scared all the time
- Lack of concentration
- Overpowering guilt and shame
Children of 6 and under generally show their distress through play and tantrums.
Complications
If left untreated, PTSD may disrupt your normal activities. It even increases your risk of cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal disorders. One may become more prone to self-harm and resort to alcoholism and drug abuse. Most severe cases can lead to suicide and should be checked in time.
Diagnosis
PTSD is typically diagnosed by completing a physical examination to rule out other medical conditions. Thereby a psychological evaluation helps to understand the reasons and intensity of PTSD.
Treatment
1. Medications
Doctors often recommend certain medications to relieve symptoms of PTSD. Some are as follows:
- Antidepressants like sertraline and paroxetine (FDA-approved prescription drugs) treat depression and anxiety.
- Anti-anxiety medicines like amitriptyline and mood stabilizers like divaloproex and lamotrigine should be taken under medical supervision for a short span. Prolonged use can be addictive.
- FDA recommends prazosin for combating nightmares, mostly among war veterans.
- Clonidine to help get better sleep.
- Propanolol to help prevent scary memories.
- Tranquillizers like lorazepam or clonazepam are restricted among PTSD patients as studies suggest they do nothing to calm them and can be habit-forming.
2. Psychotherapy
The primary treatment of PTSD is talk sessions and counselling that help children and adults to overcome their fears.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): This is the most prevalent type of psychotherapy that enables patients to identify things, thought processes and negative emotions that lead to depression and phobia.
- Exposure therapy: This is another kind of CBT that exposes the patients to the same traumatic situation in a controlled environment. This helps the patient become habituated to the incidents and cope emotionally. It usually helps cure nightmares and flashbacks.
- Eye movement desensitizing and reprocessing or EMDR: This complex psychotherapy combines exposure therapy with voluntary direction-oriented rapid eye movement. It assists the patient in emotionally managing turbulent memories. This has been particularly helpful in healing phobias.
- Psychodynamic therapy: This talk therapy helps patients analyze their personal beliefs and conflicts, deep-seated thinking that triggers subconsciously, like social pressure, past experiences, and relations.
Prevention
After experiencing any threatening incident, everybody develops PTSD-like symptoms of fear, anger, anxiety, feeling low, guilt, etc., which eventually subsides. Early intervention and support from family and friends often help prevent these early symptoms from worsening into PTSD. Timely medical supervision and encouraging support systems also prevent people from resorting to addiction or suicidal tendencies and help to get back to normal life.
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