Dealing with PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, otherwise known as PTSD, is a deadly condition in which a person’s brain cannot function properly after a traumatic event occurs. There are many unforgettable events that can start this long road of pain and confusion that sometime never ends. When terrorists bombed the Twin Towers on 9/11, this affected a ton of people. It left many shocked and horrified, not knowing what to do. Sometimes there will even be homeless veterans on the streets wandering around aimlessly not knowing what’s going on. They are all being affected by PTSD, which doesn’t allow their brains to process the traumatic event that they had witnessed days, months, or even years earlier. In the novel, Holden’s thoughts and experiences relate to what real people with PTSD go through in their lives, based on the fact that they both have similar causes, symptoms, and treatment options for the disease.
PTSD can be caused by a plethora of things which affect a person in a certain way that makes their body stops functioning in the correct way. Some of the most common instigators of PTSD are military combat, sexual or physical assault, car accidents, death, or even natural disasters. During these traumatic events, the human body increases the heart rate and pumps blood to the muscles as fast as it can, so that it can prepare itself to fight off bleeding or infections. As a result, all of the body’s resources and energy get locked in on physically getting out of
This paper explores post-traumatic stress and how it is seen as a disorder. Post-traumatic stress can manifest into post-traumatic stress disorder. The evaluation and review books and articles seem to reveal a relation to these symptoms and military member, either active or non-active veterans. These symptoms do not manifest strictly into the full-extent of the disorder in all cases of military, however, things such as depression and other physical symptoms are discussed through the readings. The end result is that we discovered that through the readings PTSD will in fact lead to suicide if left untreated.
PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental illness that displays symptoms of “intense yearning, difficulties to accept the loss, anger, and a sense that life is meaningless” (Spuij et al. 677). The main character of J.D Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, almost perfectly fits these symptoms, due to the heartbreaking loss of his brother, Allie. Based on this, and more examples from the novel, it is likely that Holden suffers from PTSD.
PTSD, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. Most survivors of trauma return to normal given a little time. However, some people will have stress reactions that do not go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals may develop PTSD. People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person’s daily life.
What is post-traumatic stress disorder? When most people think of the term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they think of war and returning soldiers. Even though this is true, post-traumatic stress disorder does not only develop in soldier’s returning from war. When you look at the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you will see that it is a mental health condition that is triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. This means that post-traumatic stress disorder can be developed after any traumatic event or experience that one has gone through.
Post-Traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD, is on a rise in our country and expected to rise more in the coming years (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). PTSD is a psychiatric disorder than can result from the experience or witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). According to the Evidence based article examples of PTSD are terrorist attack, violent crime and abuse, military combat, natural disasters, serious accidents or violent personal assaults (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005). PTSD has also been liked to possible exposure to environmental toxins such as Agent Orange or electromagnetic radiation (Iribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiappelli, 2005).
People wonder what can cause PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). There are multiple things such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and military combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder victims deal with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts on a regular basis if they are not getting treatment which can be as simple as therapy once a month or as complex as taking medications daily and going to therapy on a regular basis even then victims can still experience anxiety and depression.
For more than twenty years, Patricia Dietz, a wife of a Vietnam veteran, has suffered along with her husband the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. She has stated that, "It has changed everything; it has affected the rest of his and her life." Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is when a person is haunted by his memories so badly that it affects not only the rest of his life, but others close to him as well.
The military serves as a major component in our nation 's security. Everyone around the country continues to rely on them each day to defend our freedom. Undeniably, the responsibilities of military members comes along with large amounts of anxiety, self-less service, and occasionally terrifying events that can have a negative influence on the individuals life. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious illness among the men in our military. Gates et al. (2012) defines PTSD as, "a psychiatric condition that is experienced by a subset of individuals after exposure to an event that involved life threat and elicited feelings of fear, helplessness, and/or horror in the individual" (p.361). In some environments, this is a
Research has shown that approximately 41 percent of veterans in the Vietnam War were diagnosed with PTSD. The term Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was first coined in the late 1900s right after the Vietnam War. This is no surprise as most veterans fighting in the Vietnam War faced many traumatic events fighting in combat and PTSD came about as a result. After a traumatic experience most soldiers will feel frightened, sad, anxious, disconnected, and even experience sleeping disorders, along with many other mental and emotional problems. If this continues and does not fade, soldiers will continue to feel overwhelmed with the feelings of continuous danger and painful memories. These symptoms all point to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. These feelings will make people feel as though they are stuck in time in a deep hole, but it can be overcome. By reaching out and seeking therapy, soldiers can move on with their lives. However, it can be hard for the person experiencing PTSD because most people cannot relate to this disorder. Only a select few who experience a traumatic event will be affected by this disorder. A well-known appreciated author who once suffered from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is Tim O’Brien. He transcribes his experience in the novel, “The Things They Carried.” Tim O’Brien does a phenomenal job of illustrating the disorder through a collection of fictional short stories. In addition, he also speaks about the therapy he went through to suppress the feelings of
As far back as time goes or at least written record men have gone to war. With a war comes physiological and psychological scars. Physical wounds may heal quickly and be forgotten, but psychological wounds may last a lifetime. In the past society did not understand the effects of war and mental illness nor how to treat it. In this paper, I will discuss the history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), explain the diagnostic description, and describe etiology and treatment for PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD has been one of the most critical issues for military veterans for decades. Most veterans who deployed have seen or experienced traumatic stressful events which can eventually develop to PTSD. They might not recognize the symptoms of the PTSD. They might not know how to react to the situation and how it can affect them in the long run. Since some of them may not know the symptoms of PTSD; therefore, they might not even know that they have PTSD. On the other hand, those who do know, might keep it to himself or herself secretly and never let anyone know about it. Later on, these symptoms start to get worse and worse and it, finally, is too late to treat these veterans. There are several treatments out there for PTSD. Therapists can use the cognitive psychology to help veterans with PTSD by using cognitive therapy. Cognitive Processing Therapy is one of many therapies that can be used to help veterans to overcome PTSD. Cognitive psychology is a new version of functionalism which was influenced by Gestalt psychology and structuralism and he main perspectives of cognitive psychology focus on the importance of cognitive process or intellectual process, for example, opinion, memory, thinking, and language (Lahey, 2012). Cognitive Therapy can treat PTSD by helping veterans to understand its symptoms, change the way of thinking, and better cope with PTSD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that causes anxiety and distress due to an extremely terrifying event. PTSD occurs in people who have experienced an event that is life-threatening, terrifying to include seeing someone they personally know or don’t know endure death (Kalat, 2013, p. 383). Recently the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) has seen significant rises in diagnosing and treating PTSD sufferers in returning combat soldier from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the National Center for PTSD out of 100 veterans 20 are likely to return with PTSD symptoms (Veterans Affairs Administration, 2010). This is out of the roughly two million soldiers that have fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan war. It is noteworthy that
We have all heard of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and have heard that it affects
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a silent assassin in which those around the victim have no idea what is taking place within their minds. Only those closest to the person recognize that there is something wrong. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnoses PTSD as persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, efforts to avoid triggers related to the trauma, and hyperarousal or increased reactivity (Reddy, 2014). PTSD is associated with exposure to a traumatic event and in some cases, symptoms of the disorder can take months or years to appear and even longer for the individual to seek help. PTSD is a very common occurrence in veterans, especially veterans who engaged in
Each year, over three million children and adolescents experience some form of traumatic event in their life (Ray, 2014). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event (Hamblen, 2009). Some of the events that can cause children and adolescents to suffer from PTSD are natural and man-made disasters, violent crimes, rape, or murder of a parent, school shootings, motor vehicle accidents, severe burns, exposure to community violence, war, peer suicide, and sexual and physical abuse. A social worker must assess the biopsychosocial development and other theories to implement an effective plan to evaluate the needs of the individual.