Free Essays on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The consequences of trauma and PTSD vary greatly depending on the age of the victim, the nature of the trauma, the response to the trauma and the support to the victim in the aftermath. In general, victims of PTSD suffer reduced quality of life due to the intrusive symptoms which restrict their ability to function. They may alternate periods of overactivity with periods of exhaustion as their bodies suffer the effects of hyperarousal. Reminders of the trauma they suffered may appear suddenly, causing instant panic, and possible flashbacks. They become fearful, not only of the trauma itself, but of their own reactions to the trauma. Body signals that were once providers of essential information, become dangerous. For example, heart beat acceleration that might indicate over-exertion or excitement, becomes a danger signal in itself because it is a reminder of the trauma response, and therefore is associated with the trauma. The ability to orient to safety and danger becomes decreased w hen many things, or even everything, in the environment become perceived as dangerous. When the reminders of trauma become extreme, freezing or dissociation can be activated, just as if the trauma was occurring in the present. It can become a terribly vicious circle. Victims of PTSD can become extremely restricted, fearing to be together with others or go out of their homes. Child victims of trauma are a special area for study. Robert Pynoos at the University of California at Los Angeles is a pioneer in researching the impact of trauma on children and adolescents. Psychological and motor development can be arrested in child victims of trauma, leading to increasingly negative impact on their lives if they continue to mature without intervention to restore lost or undeveloped resources and skills (Pynoos 1993).... Free Essays on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Free Essays on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder After experiencing a traumatic event, the mind has been known to horde away the details and memories and then send them back at unexpected times and places, sometimes after years have passed. It does so in a haunting way that makes the recall just as disturbing as the original event. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the name for the acquired mental condition that follows a psychologically distressing event "outside the range of usual human experience" (Bernstein, et al). There are five diagnostic criteria for this disorder and there are no cures for this affliction, only therapies which lessen the burden of the symptoms. The root of the disorder is a traumatic event which implants itself so firmly in the mind that the person may be shackled by the pain and distress of the event indeinately, experiencing it again and again as the mind stays connected with the past rather than the present, making it difficult to think of the future. The research on this topic is all rather recent as t he disorder was only added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) in the last twenty years. Yet, the disorder is quite common, threatening to control and damage the lives of approximately eight percent of the American population [5% of men and 10% of women]. Any person is a potential candidate for developing PTSD if subject to enough stress. There is no predictor or determining factor as to who will develop PTSD and who will not. Although all people who suffer from it have experienced a traumatic event, not all people who experience a traumatic event will develop PTSD. Each person’s individual capacity for coping with catastrophic events determines their risk of acquiring PTSD. And not everyone will experience the same symptoms; some may suffer only a few mild symptoms for a short period of time, others may be completely absorbed, still others who experience great trauma may never develop any symptoms at all (Friedman). Mo... Free Essays on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder The consequences of trauma and PTSD vary greatly depending on the age of the victim, the nature of the trauma, the response to the trauma and the support to the victim in the aftermath. In general, victims of PTSD suffer reduced quality of life due to the intrusive symptoms which restrict their ability to function. They may alternate periods of overactivity with periods of exhaustion as their bodies suffer the effects of hyperarousal. Reminders of the trauma they suffered may appear suddenly, causing instant panic, and possible flashbacks. They become fearful, not only of the trauma itself, but of their own reactions to the trauma. Body signals that were once providers of essential information, become dangerous. For example, heart beat acceleration that might indicate over-exertion or excitement, becomes a danger signal in itself because it is a reminder of the trauma response, and therefore is associated with the trauma. The ability to orient to safety and danger becomes decreased w hen many things, or even everything, in the environment become perceived as dangerous. When the reminders of trauma become extreme, freezing or dissociation can be activated, just as if the trauma was occurring in the present. It can become a terribly vicious circle. Victims of PTSD can become extremely restricted, fearing to be together with others or go out of their homes. Child victims of trauma are a special area for study. Robert Pynoos at the University of California at Los Angeles is a pioneer in researching the impact of trauma on children and adolescents. Psychological and motor development can be arrested in child victims of trauma, leading to increasingly negative impact on their lives if they continue to mature without intervention to restore lost or undeveloped resources and skills (Pynoos 1993)....