Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental disorder that can occur after a person experiences a traumatic event. For example sexual harassment, war, terrorist attack, or serious accident.
Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, there are a number of incidents that predispose to PTSD –namely sexual abuse and childhood abuse.
PTSD has a lifetime prevalence – between 8–10%, and is accompanied by social functioning disabilities. In war situations, the prevalence of individuals experiencing PTSD increases to 30 percent. In addition, women have a higher risk of experiencing PTSD than men. This is because women experience more sexual harassment.
Symptom
PTSD sufferers have experienced or have witnessed traumatic events. These events are usually life-threatening or physical and make them unable to do anything. This situation is certainly very frightening – it could even be close to death.
PTSD sufferers will usually experience the same events over and over again with various perceptions. It could be visions, dreams, illusions, hallucinations or flashbacks.
If not handled properly, PTSD can cause complications. Complications that can occur due to PTSD are severe mental disorders – such as schizophrenia or attempted suicide. Another thing that can be caused is persistent sleep disturbance or low self-esteem. Ultimately this can trigger various symptoms of psychosis or other psychiatric disorders.
Reason
The causes of PTSD are:
- Serious Traffic Accidents (Rail, Plane or Bus Accidents) that put a person in a situation where there are many victims.
- Experienced criminal acts, such as robbery, attempted murder, rape.
- Serious illness –such as cancer, or the death of a loved one.
- Natural disasters –such as floods, earthquakes, or possibly tsunamis
- Sexual harassment or physical violence received by people we love (parents, or spouse)
- War and terrorism
Diagnosis
The doctor will collect information by asking about complaints that lead to PTSD. These questions can be used as a reference by doctors in diagnosing PTSD.
The diagnosis of PTSD can be determined in several ways, for example:
- Avoidant behavior towards events, people, objects, or activities related to the traumatic event
- Inability to recall the incident
- Difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, emotional outbursts, often feeling startled
- Duration more than 1 month
PTSD can prevent you from functioning normally in society. From the physical examination, several abnormalities can also be found that can help doctors diagnose PTSD:
- Lack of personal hygiene
- Behavioral disorders
- Memory impairment
- Disruption of concentration
- Impulse control disorder
Treatment
PTSD treatment can be done with cognitive and behavioral therapy. This medication will help people with PTSD to slowly deal with situations that are scarier than they have been before.
Mind Manipulation. Through this therapy, doctors will help PTSD sufferers to analyze which part of the incident makes them anxious. Doctors will also help PTSD sufferers see these frightening events from a different angle. While this does not eliminate the fears of people with PTSD, it can still reduce fear and anxiety.
Desensitization. This treatment is commonly used in people with phobias. The trick is to expose slowly and hold on to the feared object, situation or person. This aims for a habituation process that will make PTSD patients feel that this is not a threat.
The medication for PTSD therapy that is needed is anti-anxiety medication. This treatment aims to reduce the anxiety of PTSD sufferers and help them feel more relaxed.
Antidepressants. This medication is used to reduce or stop the symptoms of depression in people with PTSD.
Prevention
If you or someone around you has PTSD, it’s a good idea to know this. It’s important not to leave people with PTSD alone –especially during their time of mental instability. Another thing that is also important is to make people with PTSD feel safe and comfortable. So avoid things that can make PTSD sufferers remember the traumatic events they experienced.
There are ways to prevent PTSD from occurring. After experiencing a traumatic event, avoid overreacting. Ask for help or protection from people who you think can help get out of the fear you feel.