PTSD

Trauma.
What comes to your mind when you see that word? A bad high school experience? Bullying? Parents' divorce? Or do things like war, 9/11, abuse come to mind?
The reality of it is that all these things are traumas. Webster Dictionary defines trauma as "a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury." Traumas can be a one time occurrence or something that lasts every day for years on end.
Traumas affect every person differently. What one person may see as traumatic another person may not. What deeply affects some people may only minorly affect someone else. 70% of the population will experience some type of trauma. 20% of those people will go on to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as when the reaction from the trauma becomes life-interfering. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been found recently to develop specifically because of changes in the brains of those who have it. Generally those who have it have been living on edge for such a period of time that their body has learned to stay in that mode and therefore adjusted to it and it never stops. Living in that mode changes the brain and makes it more susceptible to developing PTSD.

PTSD is diagnosed when someone exhibits symptoms from three categories.
The first symptom is re-living of the event. This can happen in multiple ways. This can happen when someone has a nightmare, an intrusive memory, or a flashback. A flashback is when the mind sends the body back to a specific time in the past and one feels like they are back in that moment. This is usually done through the senses. Flashbacks are experienced in different ways depending on the person. A person can still be present in the world and understand what is going on or they can be completely disconnected with what is going on around them. It varies from person to person.
The second symptom is avoiding reminders of the event. This can include people, places, thoughts or anything that may be connected to the trauma. Additionally, they may withdraw from people that they are close to and feel detached emotionally from their friends and family. They may also lose interest in their activities.
The third symptom is being on guard of hyper-aroused. This means that people are on the edge all the time, worried about what may come next. This can lead to bursts of anger, anxiety, jumpiness, difficulty sleeping, and an inability to focus.
The combination of these three symptoms lead to a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

So what options are there to treat PTSD?
There are generally two options: medication and therapy.
Medication can be used to help with things like mood, anxiety and any co-occurring disorders. Additionally, doctors have been using a blood pressure medication to help with nightmares and that has worked well for many.
For therapy, there are many different types of therapy that can be used to help someone with PTSD. One type of therapy is called EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. It is when a specific eye motion is used to help your mind reprocess some memories so that when they resurface they don't carry the emotional weight that they did before.
Another type of therapy that is used is exposure therapy. This type of therapy is what a person is slowly introduced to things that trigger them in order to help them to not become so triggering.
Another therapy that is generally used in all spectrums is cognitive behavioral therapy which works with thoughts and thinking errors and things like that.
The combination of therapy and medication can help life become more manageable.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is challenging to deal with. It can even be debilitating if not dealt with. However, with the right treatment, there is hope. There is always hope.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Fact Sheet. (1995). Retrieved January 09, 2018, from https://www.sidran.org/resources/for-survivors-and-loved-ones/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-fact-sheet/