Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may arise when people experience a traumatic event such as death, threatened death, serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence.*

This definition applies primarily to simple trauma, or exposure to one circumscribed traumatic event. By contrast, complex trauma may arise from exposure over time to prolonged, repeated trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or violence. The symptom pictures resulting from simple and complex trauma differ somewhat.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

 

 GET HERE  TODAY

Common PTSD symptoms

Anger, depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts or memories, flashbacks, fatigue, nightmares, loss of concentration, increased startle, hypervigilance, avoidance, isolation, emotional numbing, lack of trust, and suicidal ideation or suicidal thoughts may all indicate the presence of PTSD.

Anger, aggression and confusion are a few symptoms of the fabled myth of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An over whelming feeling that devours men and women of the armed forces, but hasn’t been talked about openly until, now. A subject no one likes to openly speak of, due to fear of being cast out as an outsider among the normal people who never witnessed something so traumatic can function in normal society today.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological disorder where the person diagnosed with PTSD encounters various symptoms caused by a traumatic event such as combat exposure, sexual assault or a serious accident. A traumatic event caused by unpredictable, unforeseen circumstances can lead to an intense negative nature. …show more content…
The trauma that is attached to all of these sudden life changing injuries often lead back to substance abuse, alcohol abuse that is attached to a mental illness which takes a toll on a soldiers family as well. Ann Jones writes in her book, They were Soldiers: How Americas wounded come home the untold story, "Sooner or later almost every American soldier comes home on a stretcher, in a box, in an altered state of mind." As the wars in foreign countries ends, the war continues on in within our soldiers. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
In an essay titled, Leaving the Battlefield: soldier shares story of PTSD, Chaplain Major Carlos Huerta tells of his experience dealing with PTSD. (Maj) Chaplain Huerta tells of his experiences in Iraq in 2004 and how the painful memories and how vividly he can remember every detail from the 6 year old boy who caught an IED during Ramadan or all the doors he knocked to tell children their mother or father weren’t coming home. Chaplain Huerta didn’t understand what triggered his PTSD, but he knew something was not right. Like most soldiers in the military Chaplain Huerta tells of, his mind never leaving the battlefield.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that presents in form of anxiety disorder, and it usually develops following exposure to an event or incident that is terrifying and mostly associated with an increased risk or actual occurrence of severe body harm. These events exceed the coping capabilities of the individual, resulting into psychological trauma. As a result of the trauma, the affected individual develops fear conditioning in their brain, possibly because of certain brain chemicals that are released. Some structures in the brain are also thought to undergo atrophy. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
The patients may also develop sleeping disorders, exhibit violent behavior and startled responses (Rosen, 2004).
Information processing in patients with PSTD
Various models have been developed to explain the memory and concentration problems manifested by patients affected by post traumatic stress disorder. These models relate the cognitive problems with these patients with the changes in the brain structures that function in learning and memory. The first model is described as fear structure, whereby the brain of the affected individuals become programmed to process information associated with the threatening experience and subsequent physiological, physical and behavioral responses. Another information processing model is based on cognitive theory, with an assumption that the disorder progresses only if a person perceives the traumatic incident in a manner that makes the incident to become threatening after it has taken place. The perception of the trauma as being present results into intrusions and reliving symptoms, anxiety, and over alertness. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life. James D. Johnson elaborately explains the everyday battles of living with PTSD in the book, Combat Trauma: A Personal Look at Long-term Consequences. Johnson describes living with PTSD as a, “lifetime sentence”. There are many ways that PTSD is being treated in the United States, including psychotherapies and pharmacological drugs.
Introduction Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a crippling anxiety disorder most commonly in which an individual is exposed to a traumatic event and suffer severe distress as a result of that event. Commonly associated with combat veterans, PTSD can result from a variety of traumatic events. Symptoms of PTSD include: reliving the event and intrusive thoughts, avoidance of reminders of trauma, and hyperarousal (Warner, Warner, Appenzeller, & Hoge, 2013). Trauma comes in many different forms, however some of the most common forms of trauma that juvenile offenders will experience are loss and bereavement, domestic violence, emotional abuse, and physical abuse. Trauma exposure for youth involved in the justice system can begin at a young age, with one study showing that up to one-third of youth in the justice system experienced trauma before one year of age (Dierkhising, Ko, Woods-Jaeger, Briggs, Lee, & Pynoos, 2013). Trauma and PTSD can occur in all settings and effect various individuals, so it is important to look at incarcerated juvenile offenders as well as those on probation and explore the differences between male and female offenders.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE

The brain secretes stress-responsive substances that alter the functioning of the brainstem, the limbic system, and the frontal lobes. The brainstem and limbic system serve to mobilize the body to respond (fight, flight, or freeze), while and the frontal lobes and other cortical areas evaluate the situation and determine the best response.

For most people, after the stressful event is over, they are able to return to physiological homeostasis. For those people who develop persistent PTSD symptoms, the experience of the traumatic event(s) is so overwhelming that it alters how they physically respond to trauma. In such individuals, the limbic system, which is the “threat-assessment” area of the brain and which is designed to adapt to the experience of threat, may become hypersensitive to the point where even minor triggers or unrelated events may give rise to a physical stress response.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Exposure to one or more traumatic events can change how we view the world and what constitutes right and wrong—or at the very last cause us to question these beliefs, and at worst completely destroy them. Trauma also distorts our sense of time: the past and present no longer have firm boundaries, and the past can intrude into the present at any time in unpredictable and distressing ways.

In addition, because traumatic memories have such powerful sensory components, they do not fall into a narrative (story) structure, but rather feel fragmented, and thus more frightening and disorienting. This sense of distortion between the way we felt before the event or events and the way we feel now about the world all may lead people with PTS symptoms to avoid people, places, and things that might trigger one of these intrusions. Avoidance, in turn, can lead to more general withdrawal, self-medication with alcohol or drugs to regulate emotions, and trouble concentrating and focusing on the present, as well as other symptoms described below.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Experience of a single, discrete traumatic event often results in feelings of fear, terror, and helplessness. In addition, people may experience some combination of other responses, such as numbness, withdrawal, confusion, and shock. All of these may set the stage for later PTSD symptoms.

While the presence or absence of any of these responses are not necessarily predictive, people who take a more active, problem-solving approach to the traumatic event are less likely to develop PTSD, while those who dissociate are more likely to develop PTSD. Likewise, people with a prior history of exposure to trauma or any emotional disorder, those with a history of substance abuse, those with a family history of anxiety, people separated from their parents at an early age, and those without social support tend to be at greater risk for developing PTSD.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Those exposed to repeated trauma over time may present with some or all of the typical PTSD symptoms. In addition, they may show persistent personality changes, including persistent distortions of their ability to relate to others and in their sense of identity; excessive dependence; difficulty planning; and difficulty with decision-making, sometimes to the point of paralysis.

Other common symptoms include helplessness, fear, anxiety, self-hatred, shame, distrust, aggression against self and others, fatigue, sleep and eating problems, and physical complaints. Those suffering from complex PTSD may also be more likely to continue to dissociate in response to real or perceived threats. Even if those who experience repeated or persistent trauma don’t meet the criteria for PTSD, they may still experience subclinical PTSD, depression, anxiety, or other diagnosable problems.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Those exposed to persistent and/or repeated trauma are at greater risk for repeated harm, both self-inflicted and from others. Individuals with post-traumatic stress from both simple and complex trauma may also develop an “emotion-focused” style of coping where their goal is to alter their distressed emotional state rather than attempt to change the circumstances that give rise to that state. This coping style is largely responsible for the high rate of substance abuse among those who experience PTSD.

Several specific treatments exist for working with PTSD. The most common are Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). Two other commonly used approaches include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET).Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

In addition to these trauma-specific treatments, trauma informed care offers a more general approach to working with both simple and complex PTSD. A trauma-informed approach is particularly useful when non-specialists or non-clinicians are working with those who have experienced complex trauma and who may or may not meet the formal diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Trauma-informed care involves recognizing the high prevalence of exposure to childhood and adult trauma and the common signs of PTSD; creating a safe and trusting environment; and focusing on collaboration, empowerment, and reconnecting with social supports.

Response to trauma is unique to each person; what is traumatic to one person may not be to another. People who have experienced war, assault, rape, torture, a serious accident, a natural disaster, medical trauma (e.g., waking up during surgery), and other events that pose the threat of death or serious injury are potentially at risk for to develop PTSD. PTSD can involve direct exposure to one or more of these events, witnessing such an event, or hearing about someone close to them experiencing such an event.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

PTSD can also arise when professionals and others experience repeated indirect exposure to traumatic events (vicarious trauma) or in others, especially family members, who hear about the first-hand trauma experiences of others (secondary trauma). Women are at greater risk for developing PTSD than men.

How does PTSD affect people?

Response to trauma typically falls along a continuum from an acute stress reaction that resolves without the person developing long-term PTSD, to the classic presentation of simple PTSD from one exposure to trauma, to complex PTSD from prolonged and/or repeated exposure to trauma. Anyone who has experienced significant trauma is at greater risk for various physical and psychological illnesses, as well as being more likely to develop a substance use problem or engage in high-risk behaviors.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

If the event is severe enough, nearly everyone will have symptoms related to PTSD, at least for a brief period. Those who experience an intentional trauma, such as an assault, are at greater risk for longer-term PTSD than those who suffer an unintentional trauma, such as a car accident. PTSD symptoms can last for months, years, or for the rest of the person’s life.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder(commonly known as PTSD) is disorder that occurs after an event which has had a traumatizing effect on an individual. A traumatizing event would include life threatening events, emotionally traumatic events, terrifying events, and even rape. The effects of PTSD are anxiety, violent rages, consistent nightmares, and terrifying flashbacks. Symptoms of PTSD usually emerge after 3 months after the incident, but symptoms can also be evident even years later. Individuals that experience a traumatic event are most likely to develop PTSD. There are five different types of PTSD. These types include: Normal Stress Response, Acute Stress Disorder, Uncomplicated PTSD, Comorbid PTSD, And Complex PTSD. Normal Stress Response(NSR) can occur in adults who have been in a single traumatizing event. Examples can include divorce, loss of job, and loss of a loved one. People with NSR often experience feelings of unreality, numbing of emotions, and stress. Typically, these people tend to push away others. This type of PTSD can be easily overcome by engaging in small groups and having positive conversations.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress-related disorder that may develop after exposure to an event or ordeal in which death or severe physical harm occurred or was threatened. People who suffer from the disorder include military troops, rescue workers, and survivors of shootings, bombings, violence, and rape. Family members of victims can develop the disorder as well through vicarious trauma.

PTSD affects about 8 million American adults and can occur at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop the disorder than men, and there is some evidence that it may run in families. PTSD is frequently accompanied by depression, substance use disorder, and anxietydisorders. When other conditions are appropriately diagnosed and treated, the likelihood of successful treatment increases.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Diagnosis of "Andrea C.: Experiencing Violence in the Workplace"
Being able to form a diagnosis properly for a client is a process that is wide-ranging and broad. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) supports recommendations and standards for identifying a diagnosis for a client. The procedure of diagnosing is more than skimming for symptoms in the DSM; one must assess, interview and identify issues, as well as refer to the DSM for a diagnosis.
Case Study: Andrea C
Andrea C. a company manager, is forty-nine and divorced. The location of the building where she …show more content…
Andreas experience was directly related to her own personal involvement with a traumatic event.
Andrea experiences intrusion symptoms; these symptoms arrive suddenly and occur when memories of the previous traumatic event plague your life (APA, 2013). Andrea expresses that she has a solid fear of returning to work (Butcher et al. 2013). Andrea’s opposition to return to work can be considered a “persistent avoidance of stimuli” (APA, 2013, p. 271). Andrea is feeling hopeless, guilty and withdrawn (Butcher et al. 2013) showing that Andrea is having “negative alterations in cognitions” (APA, 2013, p. 271). Andrea is also exhibiting hypersensitivity towards undertakings and activities stating that they are debilitating. Andrea also speaks of memory problems. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
Somatoform are physical symptoms triggered through psychological factors (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Veterans are dealing with health issues (Musculoskeletal injuries and pain, Mental health issues, Chemical exposure, Infectious diseases, Noise and vibration exposure, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Urologic injuries) upon returning home from combat duty. Also, many veterans have problem assimilating, flashbacks or just talking to civilians in general. The purpose of this paper is to look at the research surrounding veterans with PTSD link to Dementia. First of all, what is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that develops when someone is a witness to or experiences a traumatic event. PTSD has specific symptoms resulting from traumatic life threatening experiences. Symptoms resulting from the event must be present in a certain way over a period of time and for a certain duration. A person who witnesses two or more traumatic events in a short amount of time can cause the brain to release the hormone glucocorticoid which helps control the response to stress. When this hormone is low or depleted and a second traumatic event takes place before the hormone is replenished in the brain, the stress becomes even more intensified thus increasing the person’s chances of developing PTSD.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper
Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families
Previous Ignorance and Response to Disease In the past, veterans who disclosed suffering from signs of PTSD encountered a great deal of ignorance and bias. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.), veterans who had the illness were often considered weak, were rejected by comrades, and even faced discharge from military service. In fact, even physicians and mental health specialists often questioned the existence of the disease, which of course led to society’s misconception of PTSD in general. Sadly because of this existing prejudice it appears even today soldiers are still worried to admit having PTSD symptoms, and therefore they do not receive the proper support they need. While individuals are assured that their careers will not be affected, and seeking help is encouraged, most soldiers see it as a failure to admit having a mental health illness (Zoroya, 2013). Educating military personal of this illness, and making sure no blame is put on the veterans who encounter this disease is therefore vital. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

PTSD PTSD is a psychological disorder that develops in people who have seen, lived, or imagined a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. PTSD is most prevalent in military soldiers who have been involved with war and have saw death or been in fear for their life. It can also take place in people who have been in a bad car accident or other situation where they “saw their life flash before their eyes.” Some cases of PTSD actually never occur to an individual but reoccurring dreams have caused the individual to be in constant fear. CAPS is the gold standard for PTSD assessment. This is a 30-item structured interview that can diagnose PTSD and the severities. According to the Cap-5 scale, there are 4 severities of PTSD. 0 is absent, the individual denies reports of having this disease and no evidence shows that there is any issues. 1 is mild, the respondent responds to an issue but the symptom criteria isn’t significant enough to consider is a clinical disease. 2 is moderate, the respondent has a clinically significant problem and could be a target for intervention. This rating requires a minimum of 2 times for the flashbacks to occur and a minimum intensity of clearly present. 3 is severe, the problem is above threshold and it is overwhelming. The individual would likely need intervention. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

When symptoms develop immediately after exposure and persist for up to a month, the condition may be called acute stress disorder. PTSD is diagnosed when the stress symptoms following exposure have persisted for over a month. Delayed expression of PTSD can occur if symptoms arise six months or more following the onset of trauma.

Roughly 30 percent of Vietnam veterans developed PTSD. The disorder also has been detected in as many as 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, about 6 percent to 11 percent of veterans of the Afghanistan war, and about 12 percent to 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq war. For veterans, factors related to combat may further increase the risk for PTSD and other mental health problems. These include the veteran's role in the war, the politics around the war, where it's fought, and the type of enemy faced. Another cause of PTSD in the military is military sexual trauma (MST) or sexual harassment or assault that occurs in the military. MST happens to men and women and can occur during peacetime, training, or war. Among veterans using VA health care, about 23 percent of women reported sexual assault while in the military, 55 percent of women and 38 percent of men have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

The stress that results from traumatic events precipitates a spectrum of psycho-emotional and physiopathological outcomes. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that results from the experience or witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events. PTSD has profound psychobiological correlates, which can impair the person's daily life and be life threatening. In light of current events (e.g. extended combat, terrorism, exposure to certain environmental toxins), a sharp rise in patients with PTSD diagnosis is expected in the next decade. PTSD is a serious public health concern, which compels the search for novel paradigms and theoretical models to deepen the understanding of the condition and to develop new and improved modes of treatment intervention. We review the current knowledge of PTSD and introduce the role of allostasis as a new perspective in fundamental PTSD research. We discuss the domain of evidence-based research in medicine, particularly in the context of complementary medical intervention for patients with PTSD. We present arguments in support of the notion that the future of clinical and translational research in PTSD lies in the systematic evaluation of the research evidence in treatment intervention in order to insure the most effective and efficacious treatment for the benefit of the patient.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

 

 GET  TODAY

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

The twenty-first century rose in a ray of hope. The belief was commonly held that an age of worldwide prosperity was beginning with the new millennium. Only a few years ago, people spoke of peace. Today, the general trend in many populations across the globe is fear and anxiety about self and neighbor. Socio-political events have cast a shadow of uneasiness about one's own security and that of significant others at a personal as well as a societal level. (Case in point is Greg, a businessman from Southern California, who happened to be on a business trip in New York city scheduled for September 10–12, 2001. Following the 9/11 attack, which he barely escaped, he immediately attempted to contact his family in the Southland and to leave New York city. He was on the first plane out: but the plane never took off, instead it was boarded by the New York city SWAT team who, at gun point, arrested a passenger seated four seats in front of Greg's. Greg then drove at night to Philadelphia, where he was eventually able to board a plane and return to his anxious family. To this day, Greg does not fly as often as before, is reticent to fly to the east coast and will not return to do business in New York city. His Type II diabetes has considerably worsened.)Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Traumatic events are profoundly stressful. The stress that results from traumatic events precipitates a spectrum of psycho-emotional and physiopathological outcomes. In its gravest form, this response is diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder consequential to the experience of traumatic events.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is the psychiatric disorder that can result from the experience or witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events such as terrorist attack, violent crime and abuse, military combat, natural disasters, serious accidents or violent personal assaults. Exposure to environmental toxins (e.g. Agent orange, electromagnetic radiation) may result in immune symptoms akin to PTSD in many susceptible patients (1,2).Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Subjects with PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks. They report difficulty in sleeping. Their behavior becomes increasingly detached or estranged and is frequently aggravated by related disorders such as depression, substance abuse and problems of memory and cognition. The disorder soon leads to impairment of the ability to function in social or family life, which more often than not results in occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord and difficulties in parenting. The disorder can be severe enough and last long enough to impair the person's daily life and, in the extreme, lead the patient to suicidal tendencies. PTSD is marked by clear biological changes, in addition to the psychological symptoms noted above, and is consequently complicated by a variety of other problems of physical and mental health.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Whereas the terminology of PTSD arose relatively soon following the Vietnam conflict, the observation that traumatic events can lead to this plethora of psychobiological manifestations is not new. During the Civil War, a PTSD-like disorder was referred to as the ‘Da Costa's Syndrome’ (3), from the American internist Jacob Mendez Da Costa (1833–1900; Civil War duty: military hospital in Philadelphia).

The syndrome was first described by ABR Myers (1838–1921) in 1870 as combining effort fatigue, dyspnea, a sighing respiration, palpitation, sweating, tremor, an aching sensation in the left pericardium, utter fatigue, an exaggeration of symptoms upon efforts and occasionally complete syncope. It was noted that the syndrome resembled more closely an abandonment to emotion and fear, rather than the ‘effort’ that normal subjects engage to overcome challenges (4). This classic observation pertains to what we now know of allostasis, as we discuss below. Da Costa reported in 1871 that the disorder is most commonly seen in soldiers during time of stress, especially when fear was involved (3). The syndrome became increasingly observed during the Civil War and during World War I.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

The National Center for PTSD (US Department of Veterans Affairs) made public estimates that whereas the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the US population was 5% in men and 10% in women in the mid-to-late 1990s, the prevalence of PTSD among Vietnam veterans at this same time was at 15.2%. About 30% of the men and women who have spent time in more recent war zones experience PTSD.

Whereas the onset and progression of PTSD is characteristic for every individual subject, data suggest that most people who are exposed to a traumatic, stressful event will exhibit early symptoms of PTSD in the days and weeks following exposure. Available data from the National Center for PTSD suggest that ∼8% of men and 20% of women go on to develop PTSD and ∼30% of these individuals develop a chronic form that persists throughout their lifetimes. Complex PTSD, which is also referred to as ‘disorder of extreme stress’, results from exposure to prolonged traumatic circumstances, such as the year-on end threat of insurgent attacks among our military personnel currently in active deployment.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

The National Center for PTSD also estimates that under normal and usual socio-political conditions 8% of the US population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. At the beginning of the millennium, it was estimated that 5–6 million US adults suffered from PTSD. Because of the traumatic developments of recent years, and of ongoing turmoil worldwide, it is possible and even probable that the incidence of PTSD will sharply increase within the next decade and that it may become one among the most significant public health concerns of this new century. This threat is all the more serious considering the fact that PTSD symptoms seldom disappear completely; recovery from PTSD is a lengthy, ongoing, gradual and costly process, which is often hampered by continuing reaction to memories. Treatment usually aims at reducing reactions and to diminishing the acuity of the reactions. Treatments also seek to increase the subject's ability to manage trauma-related emotions and to greater confidence in coping abilities.

This work discusses our current understanding about PTSD. It explores current developments in stress research and discusses its applications and implication to the complex psychobiological prognosis of PTSD. The work concludes by presenting a view into the future of PTSD treatment from the perspective of evidence-based medicine, which many regard as the break-open research of the next decades—systematic and critical research on research to establish and determine what is the best available evidence for treatment for the patients. Indeed, this will be particularly true in the case of subjects with PTSD, if the austere predictions of a sharp rise in prevalence consequential to most recent terrorist and war events worldwide that involve US soldiers and civilians prove true.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

There are different psychiatric rating instruments and scales that can be used to assess adult PTSD. Some are part of comprehensive diagnostic manuals or instruments: DSM-IV TR (diagnostic criteria for 309.81 PTSD) (5); ICD-10 (F43.1 PTSD, from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision); the PTSD module, within the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (6) or the PTSD Keane scale (PK scale) (7), within the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2).

Some are designed as either self-reports or as clinician-administered instruments specifically assessing adult PTSD: Davidson Trauma Scale (8); Distressing Event Questionnaire (9); Impact of Event Scale-Revised (10); Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (11); PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (12); Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale for PTSD (13); the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (14); Trauma Symptom Inventory (11); Los Angeles Symptom Checklist (15) or the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) (16).Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

The underlying phenomena of PTSD are probably centrally mediated. Case in point is a study targeting women with early childhood abuse-related PTSD that found correlates of the emotional Stroop (17). Subjects with and without PTSD were compared. Both groups underwent PET scanning while performing in the color and emotional Stroop tasks and control condition. The control condition involved naming the color of rows of XXs (red, blue, green and yellow). The active color condition involved naming the color of color words (again with the same four colors), while the semantic context of the word was incongruous with the color. The active emotional condition involved naming the color (again the same four colors) of emotionally charged words (rape, bruise, weapon, and stench). These words have been shown to produce emotional arousal (18). The study examined the effectiveness of the Stroop task as a probe of anterior cingulate function in PTSD, because of the role of the anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex in stress response and emotional regulation. After comparing it with the color Stroop, the emotional Stroop displayed significantly decreased blood flow among the PTSD subjects in the anterior cingulate. Performance in the color Stroop task produced a non-specific activation of the anterior cingulate in both the PTSD and non-PTSD abused women. However, the emotional Stroop produced a relatively lower level blood flow response of anterior cingulate among PTSD abused women. These observations may indicate that PTSD anterior cingulate dysfunction is specific to the neural circuitry of the processing of emotional stimuli. Shin et al. (19) confirmed a relative decrease in blood flow in anterior cingulate activation in combat-related PTSD and also displayed a decreased blood flow for the emotional (but not color) Stroop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

  • The Healing Power of Telling Your Trauma Story
  • 5 Myths About PTSD
  • What Does It Take to Survive Emotionally After a Disaster?
  • How to Talk to a Vet

Many people with PTSD tend to re-experience aspects of the traumatic event, especially when they are exposed to events or objects reminiscent of the trauma. Anniversaries of the event and similarities in person, place, or circumstance can trigger symptoms. People with PTSD experience intrusive memories or flashbacks, emotional numbness, sleep disturbances, anxiety, intense guilt, sadness, irritability, outbursts of anger, and dissociative experiences. Many people with PTSD may try to avoid situations that remind them of the ordeal. When symptoms last more than one month, a diagnosis of PTSD may be relevant.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Symptoms associated with reliving the traumatic event:

  • Having bad dreams, or distressing memories about the event
  • Behaving or feeling as if the event were actually happening all over again (known as flashbacks)
  • Dissociative reactions or loss of awareness of present surroundings
  • Experiencing intense emotions when reminded of the event
  • Having intense physical sensations when reminded of the event (heart pounds or misses a beat, sweating, difficulty breathing, feeling faint, feeling a loss of control)

Symptoms related to avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event:

  • Avoiding thoughts, conversations, or feelings about the event
  • Avoiding people, activities, or places associated with the event

Symptoms related to negative changes in thought or mood:Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

  • Having difficulty remembering an important part of the original trauma
  • Feeling numb or detached from things
  • Lack of interest in social activities
  • Inability to experience positive moods
  • Pessimism about the future

Arousal and reactivity symptoms:

  • Sleeping Difficulties including trouble falling or staying asleep
  • Irritability and outbursts of anger
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Feeling easily startled
  • Excess Awareness (hypervigilance)Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Other symptoms related to depersonalization (feeling like an observer to one's body and thoughts/feelings) or derealization (experiencing unreality of surroundings) may also exist for some individuals.

Causes

The cause of PTSD is unknown, but psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. PTSD changes the body's response to stress. It affects the stress hormonesand chemicals that carry information between the nerves. People who have suffered childhood abuse or other previous traumatic experiences are likely to develop the disorder, sometimes months or years after the trauma. Temperamental variables such as externalizing behaviors or other anxiety issues may also increase risk. Other environmental risk factors include family dysfunction, childhood adversity, cultural variables, and family history of psychiatric illness. The greater the magnitude of the trauma, the greater the risk for PTSD—witnessing atrocities, severe personal injury, perpetrating violence. Inappropriate coping mechanisms, lack of social support, family instability, or financial stress may further worsen the outcome.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder. Some of these resilience factors are present before the trauma and others become important during and after a traumatic event. Resilience factors that may reduce the risk of PTSD include seeking out support from other people, such as mental health professionals, friends and family, finding a support group after a traumatic event, feeling good about one's own actions in the face of danger, having a coping strategy, and being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear.

Treatment

Treatment for PTSD typically begins with a detailed evaluation and development of a treatment plan that meets the unique needs of the survivor. The main treatments for people with PTSD are psychotherapy, medications, or both. Due to differences in experience and consequence of the trauma, treatment varies and is tailored to the symptoms and needs of the individual. Treatment by a mental health care provider who is experienced with PTSD allows people to lead more balanced and functional lives. Some people with PTSD may need to try different treatments to see what works for their symptoms.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

If someone with PTSD is going through an ongoing trauma, such as being in an abusive relationship, treatment may include helping find safety. PTSD-specific-treatment can begin only when the survivor is safely removed from the crisis situation. Individuals who experience other symptoms of panic disorder, depression, substance use disorder, and those who feel suicidal, may need treatment to focus on those issues as well.

Other strategies for treatment include:

  • Educating trauma survivors and their families about risks related to PTSD, how PTSD affects survivors and their loved ones, and other problems commonly associated with PTSD symptoms. Understanding that PTSD is a medically recognized disorder is essential for effective treatment.
  • Exposure to the event via imagery allows the survivor to re-experience the event in a safe, controlled environment. A professional can carefully examine reactions and beliefs in relation to that event.
  • Examining and resolving strong feelings such as shame, anger, or guilt, which are common among survivors of trauma.
  • Teaching the survivor to cope with post-traumatic memories, reminders, reactions, and feelings without avoiding them or becoming overwhelmed or emotionally numb. Trauma memories usually do not go away entirely as a result of therapy, but new coping skills can make them more manageable.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Medications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two medications to treat adults with PTSD, sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Both of these medications are antidepressants, which are also used to treat depression. They may help control PTSD symptoms such as sadness, worry, anger, and feeling numb. Using medications jointly with therapy or prior to starting therapy may make treatment more effective. If an antidepressant is prescribed, it may need to be taken for several days or weeks before providing significant improvement. It is important to not get discouraged and prematurely stop taking medications before they've had a chance to work. An adjustment in dosage or a switch to another SSRI may help address these issues. It is important to work collaboratively with your doctor.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Sometimes people taking these medications experience side effects. The effects can be frustrating, but they usually go away. However, medications affect everyone differently. Any side effects or unusual reactions should be reported to a doctor immediately. The most common side effects of antidepressants like sertraline and paroxetine are:

  • Headaches, which usually go away within a few days.
  • Nausea, which usually goes away within a few days.
  • Sleeplessness or drowsiness, which may occur during the first few weeks but then goes away. Sometimes the medication dose needs to be reduced or the time of day it is taken needs to be adjusted to help lessen these side effects.
  • Agitation or feeling jittery.
  • Sexual problems, which can affect both men and women, including reduced sex drive, and problems having and enjoying sex.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

There are other types of medications that doctors may also prescribe, such as the following: Benzodiazepines may be given to help people relax and sleep more easily, although there is potential for developing dependence. Antipsychotics may be prescribed to people who experience more severe agitation, suspiciousness, or paranoia. Other antidepressants like fluoxetine (Prozac) and citalopram (Celexa) can help people with PTSD feel less tense or sad. For people with PTSD who also have other anxiety disorders or depression, antidepressants may be useful in reducing symptoms of these co-occurring illnesses. The potential side effects related to the use of these medications involves a dialogue with your provider.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Similarly, antidepressant medications called tricyclics are given at low doses and gradually increased. Tricyclics have been around longer than SSRIs and have been more widely studied for treating anxiety disorders. They are as effective as the SSRIs, but many physicians and patients prefer newer drugs because the tricyclics sometimes cause dizziness, dry mouth, drowsiness, and weight gain. Mood stabilizers such as lamotrigine and divalproex sodium may also be helping in treating symptoms.

Psychotherapy

Therapy is well-regarded in the treatment of PTSD. It involves talking with a mental health professional to work through the experience and its impact on the individual. Psychotherapy can occur one on one or in a group format. Therapy for PTSD usually lasts until the individual has learned to manage and cope with their experience and is able to be more functional. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Many types of psychotherapy can help people with PTSD. Some types target the symptoms of PTSD directly. Other therapies focus on social, family, or job-related problems. The doctor or therapist may combine different therapies depending on each person's needs.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has been found to be quite effective in treating PTSD. There are several parts to CBT, including:

  • Exposure therapy: This therapy helps people be more aware of their experience. It may expose them to the memory of the trauma they experienced in a safe way. It uses mental imagery, writing, or visits to the place where the event happened. The therapist uses these tools to help people with PTSD cope with their feelings.
  • Cognitive restructuring: This therapy helps people make sense of their memories and experiences. Sometimes people remember the event differently than how it actually happened. They may feel guilt or shame about what is not their fault. The therapist helps people with PTSD look at what happened in a realistic way.
  • Stress inoculation training: This therapy tries to reduce PTSD symptoms by teaching a person how to reduce anxiety when confronting anxiety-provoking situations. Like cognitive restructuring, this treatment helps people look at their experiences in a healthy way.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

There are also other types of treatment that can help people with PTSD and a client may want to discuss with their therapist about therapy options and treatment focus that may include:

  • Learning about trauma and its effects
  • Using relaxation and anger management skills
  • Improving sleep, diet, and exercise habits
  • Identifying and dealing with guilt, shame, and other feelings about the event
  • Focusing on our reactions to PTSD symptoms—for example, therapy helps people visit places and people that are reminders of the trauma

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a treatment for traumatic memories that involves elements of exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, combined with techniques (sounds, eye movements, hand taps) that create an alteration of attention. There is some evidence that the therapeutic element unique to EMDR, attentional alteration, may be helpful in accessing and processing traumatic material.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on the emotional conflicts caused by the traumatic event. This therapy helps a person understand how the past affects the way they feel now. Through the retelling of the traumatic event to a calm and empathic counselor, the survivor achieves a greater sense of self-esteem, develops effective ways of thinking and coping, and more successfully deals with the intense emotions that emerge during therapy. The therapist helps the survivor identify current life situations that set off traumatic memories and worsen PTSD symptoms.

Group treatment is an ideal therapeutic setting because trauma survivors are able to seek help and support while sharing traumatic material in a safe environment. As group members achieve greater understanding and resolution of their trauma, they often feel more confident and able to trust themselves and others. As they discuss and share trauma-related shame, guilt, fear, rage, doubt, and self-condemnation, they learn to focus on the present rather than the past. Telling one's story and directly facing the grief, guilt, and anxiety related to the trauma enables many survivors to cope with their symptoms, memories, and lives.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Family therapy is a type of counseling that involves the whole family, as PTSD can affect the entire family. One's children or partner may not understand why the person gets angry sometimes, or why they are under so much stress. They may feel scared, guilty, or even angry about the condition. In family therapy, a therapist helps the patient and family communicate, maintain good relationships and cope with tough emotions. Each person can express his or her fears and concerns. It's important to be honest about those feelings and to listen to others. The patient can talk about PTSD symptoms, triggers, and important parts of treatment and recovery. By doing this, the person's family will be better prepared to help them.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.
PTSD is defined as mental health disorder triggered by a terrifying event (Mayoclinic). This ordeal could be the result of some sort of physical harm or threat to the individual, family members, friends or even strangers. (NIMH) While PTSD is typically associated with someone who has served in the military, it can affect more than just that genre of individuals. It could affect rape victims, victims in a terrorist or natural disaster incident, nurses, doctors, and police and fire personnel and bystanders. PTSD can manifest itself in many forms. The primary signs and symptoms of PTSD include but are not limited to re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts), avoidance of places, situations, or events that may cause those memories to resurface, and hyperarousal symptoms (easily startled, feeling tense or on edge) (NIMH). Other symptoms may include not having positive or loving feelings toward other people, staying away from relationships, may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them, may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Epidemiology
At least 50% of all adults and children are exposed to a psychologically traumatic event (such as a life-threatening assault or accident, humanmade or natural disaster, or war). As many as 67% of trauma survivors experience lasting psychosocial impairment, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); panic, phobic, or generalized anxiety disorders; depression; or substance abuse.(Van der Kolk, et al, 1994) Symptoms of PTSD include persistent involuntary re-experiencing of traumatic distress, emotional numbing and detachment from other people, and hyperarousal (irritability, insomnia, fearfulness, nervous agitation). PTSD is linked to structural neurochemical changes in the central nervous system which may have a direct biological effect on health, such as vulnerability to hypertension and atherosclerotic heart disease; abnormalities in thyroid and other hormone functions; increased susceptibility to infections and immunologic disorders; and problems with pain perception, pain tolerance, and chronic pain.(Fesler, 1991) PTSD is associated with significant behavioral health risks, including smoking, poor nutrition, conflict or violence in intimate relationships, and anger or hostility. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, otherwise known as PTSD, is a serious psychological condition that occurs as a result of experiencing a traumatic event. It is a disorder most often associated with military personnel and veterans, most of whom have engaged in combat at some point in their military careers. However, this condition is not bound to limitations of our military men and women. No, this condition can have effects on all people, no matter the age, race, sex, religion or location. Although many of these factors affect the risk of developing PTSD, they are not the deciding factor on whether or not you can or cannot develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a universal condition reaching to all of the ends of our world. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

When most people who are aware of PTSD think of the disorder, military soldiers and veterans are the first to come to mind as those who suffer from it. However, as mentioned in the introduction, PTSD is universal. It does not discriminate based on career, gender, location or so forth. A person becomes more susceptible to developing PTSD if he or she has been directly exposed to the trauma as a victim or a witness. Examples of events that can lead to a person developing PTSD are traumatic car accidents, natural disasters, violence – including domestic and warfare, rape, sexual abuse, school shootings, or any other event that causes the person to feel out of control and in danger. Other factors that increase the likelihood of developing PTSD are whether or not the person was seriously injured, the length of the event, if the person believed a loved one or self were in imminent danger and were helpless in avoiding or protecting themselves or others from the trauma.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

A compelling quote by writer Jose Narosky is, "In war, there are no unwounded soldiers". Not all soldiers return from war with noticeable wounds or visible scars although they do return with injuries that are not evident to the naked eye. Wounded soldiers often endure distressing emotional injuries. These injuries may lead to an illness known as post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. However, soldiers are not the only victims of this tragic condition; anyone who has experienced a traumatic event is at risk. While victims of PTSD suffer from it for different reasons, they all have one thing in common; the invisible wounds from these traumatic events. Research is proving that PTSD, which originally was considered just a "thought" disorder, is actually more (Lain.).In addition to the psychological symptoms, PTSD affects the brain and the internal body's health as well (Lain). All of the research not only allows for a better understanding of the causes, symptoms and treatments of PTSD, but also disperses myths associated with the disorder (Lain).Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

 

 GET A CUSTOM-WRITTEN PAPER TODAY

Post-traumatic stress disorder like any other illness is a devastating diagnosis. PTSD may happen for many reasons, such as combat exposure, sexual abuse as a child, physical abuse, horrible accidents, any kind of natural disaster or anything that is frightening and traumatic ("What Is PTSD?".). Approximately, in the United States 5.2 million adults have PTSD during a given year ("How Common Is PTSD?"). In fact, seven or eight people out of one hundred in the United States alone will have PTSD at some point ("How Common Is PTSD?").

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that can develop after an individual has been exposed to, or has witnessed a traumatic event.  The most common symptoms of PTSD are: flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, lack of concentration, emotional numbing, difficulty remembering events related to the trauma, avoidance of reminders of the event, and hyperarousal.  In addition to the psychological manifestations of PTSD, there are underlying physiological effects that bring about these severe and chronic symptoms which impair functioning in many ways.  Brain imaging scans have revealed the effects of PTSD-related trauma on different areas of the brain. This has led to increased understanding of how physiological changes affect functioning and contribute to the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

There have been many imaging studies that have identified areas in the brain that are affected by PTSD.  Furthermore, they have shown both structural and functional differences in the brains of those with PTSD compared with those without PTSD. The areas of the brain that are known to be most affected and responsible for bringing on the usual symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder are the hippocampus, amygdala, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.  The damage causes these areas, collectively, to affect and change the mechanisms of stress responses that impair perceptions and responses in patients with PTSD compared to someone who has not been traumatized. Basically the brain shifts from operating in “learning mode” which allows for exploration and enjoyment to operating in “survival mode”. When operating in “survival mode”, a person constantly feels threatened, as if their safety is in danger.  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Who gets PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop at any age, from childhood years to adulthood with any cultural, social, and economic background. Any individual that goes through a particular traumatic event can experience great stress and anxiety that can then develop into a post-traumatic stress disorder. Protective service men and women, victims of rape, abuse, and torture, as well as victims of natural disasters, accidents are examples of a mass variety of individuals that are touched by the post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD can be caused by witnessing or by being part of a traumatic event such as combat, torture, abuse, natural disaster, motor-vehicle accident and even a sudden loss of a loved one. Many factors play an important role to determining whether an individual is pre-disposed to PTSD. Risk factors are those that contribute to a person to have a higher prevalence of developing PTSD, while resilience factors help the individual to overcome trauma.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options.

As far back in history as we can go, humans have been in a fight for survival. There have been battles with gigantic mammoths, soldiers charging the front line with swords drawn or teachers witnessing neighbors

As the years went on, more was learned about this “battle sickness” and the appropriate therapies to treat them. Since more cases are found in the military, it was primarily military doctors who have formulated the treatments and plans to help those with PTSD we have today.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

PTSD is defined as an "anxiety disorder that can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something horrible and scary that you see or happens to you” (United States). In these types of events one can feel that they are not in control of what is going on around them and may feel helpless or in great danger. The Department of Veterans Affairs has listed various life threatening events that can evolve into PTSD. These events include but are not limited to "Combat or Military exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attacks, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, such as a car wreck, natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake” (United States).Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic, violent, or life-threatening event. Traumatic events may be natural or human caused. Natural events may include earthquakes, hurricanes, or medical illnesses; human-caused events may include military combat, child sexual or physical abuse, rape, torture, domestic battering, or physical assault. Some of these traumatic events may occur at one point in time or may be ongoing, with repeated exposure to the trauma. PTSD often goes undiagnosed for a variety of reasons, particularly if the traumatic events are not readily apparent or occurred in the past. If untreated, PTSD may lead to other social issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, suicidality, and violence directed at loved ones or others, which in turn may affect an individual’s family situation, diminish job or school performance, and increase social isolation.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

PTSD is a debilitating condition that can affect anyone at any age and has significant consequences for well-being and functioning. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey show an estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD of 7.8 percent for adults between the ages of 15 and 54. Women are more than twice as likely as men (10.4 percent compared to 5 percent) to develop PTSD at some point in their lives. Prevalence rates of PTSD among children and adolescents range from 3 to 14 percent in community samples. Among children who have experienced specific stressors, however, the prevalence rates are much higher. For example, 35 percent of children diagnosed with cancer and 58 percent of children who experienced both physical and sexual abuse meet the criteria for PTSD.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Veterans are also at high risk for PTSD. For example, studies of combat veterans from the Vietnam War estimate a lifetime prevalence of PTSD of 19 percent. Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 have sought mental health treatment at higher rates than those returning from other deployments, such as Bosnia. More than 3 months after returning from Iraq, 17 percent of veterans reported mental health problems and 12 percent met the criteria for PTSD. Given the number of troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, the number of veterans with PTSD will likely increase significantly.

According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, PTSD symptoms are evident in three clusters: reexperiencing, avoidance, and increased arousal. Reexperiencing symptoms may appear as intrusive and persistent flashback memories, nightmares, or frightening recurring thoughts, particularly when exposed to triggering events or objects associated with the trauma. Avoidance symptoms include emotional numbness and persistent efforts to avoid stimuli associated with the trauma. Increased arousal symptoms include sleep disturbance, irritability, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance, and exaggerated startle response that did not exist before the trauma. It is important to note that children and adolescents may have different responses to trauma depending on their developmental stage, and their symptoms may change over time.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Although PTSD symptoms often begin within 3 months of the trauma, some individuals experience delayed onset, where symptoms appear months or even years after the trauma and may reoccur. With delayed onset, the symptoms develop more than 6 months after the traumatic experience, and the prognosis is often worse. The development of PTSD depends on the severity and duration of exposure to the trauma and a complex array of risk and protective factors that may affect the individual’s response to the trauma.

Complete recovery occurs within 3 months for about half of those diagnosed with PTSD; however, many individuals have symptoms lasting longer than 12 months after the trauma. Co-occurring disorders such as major depressive disorder and alcohol or other substance abuse often accompany PTSD. Patients sometimes visit their primary care physician with symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, immune system problems, chest pain, or dizziness. In these instances, the underlying cause of the physical symptoms may be PTSD but may not be discovered without a thorough exploration of the patient’s psychosocial history. Once properly identified, PTSD is usually treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy to help individuals change their thoughts and actions and learn new coping skills to manage the symptoms that may be affecting their quality of life. Depending on the duration and severity of the symptoms, some combination of individual psychotherapy to address the symptoms, peer support groups, and medication is effective in treating PTSD.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Studies show that after the traumatic event, a crucial early intervention is education for the survivor and family about PTSD and the possible effects that trauma reactions may have on them. This allows for recognition that PTSD is a medical disorder that occurs under extreme traumatic stress and opens the pathway for effective treatment. Early diagnosis, assessment, and treatment are essential to diminishing the effects of trauma. Research has shown that crisis intervention immediately after a traumatic event may reduce some symptoms and possibly prevent the development of the disorder. After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, the New York State Office of Mental Health provided free crisis counseling services to people in New York City and the surrounding counties, including those not typically served by public mental health services. This flexibility on the part of the state mental health agency allowed many more individuals to receive help than would normally have been possible. Although prediction of such traumatic events is not possible, preparation by local, state, and federal governmental agencies to quickly respond can be effective to mitigate the effects of trauma.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic, violent, or life-threatening event. Traumatic events may be natural or human caused. Natural events may include earthquakes, hurricanes, or medical illnesses; human-caused events may include military combat, child sexual or physical abuse, rape, torture, domestic battering, or physical assault. Some of these traumatic events may occur at one point in time or may be ongoing, with repeated exposure to the trauma. PTSD often goes undiagnosed for a variety of reasons, particularly if the traumatic events are not readily apparent or occurred in the past. If untreated, PTSD may lead to other social issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, suicidality, and violence directed at loved ones or others, which in turn may affect an individual’s family situation, diminish job or school performance, and increase social isolation.Children and adolescents with bipolar disorder experience severe mood and behavior changes that are extreme and represent a major change from their typical mood and behavior. It might be difficult to know when the symptoms are severe enough to warrant evaluation and, potentially, diagnosis, so consider these three basic factors: functioning, feeling, and family Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

 With the increasing recognition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and psychotic disorders in children and adolescents, the possibility of a relationship between bipolar disorder (BP) and ADHD has attracted growing interest. This paper critically reviews the scientific literature concerning this postulated relationship by examining evidence from clinico-epidemiological, follow up, family and laboratory studies, including neuroimaging, neuropsychology and genetic studies. The evidence suggests that although the diagnostic categories of BP and ADHD appear to be unrelated, there is support for a possible relationship between some ADHD and manic-like symptoms. However, several fundamental methodological issues require rectification in future research in order to further elucidate the relationship between these disorders.

 Life has its ups and downs, so it’s natural that our moods will vary. Sometimes we feel on top of the world; other times, we’re sad, lonely and discouraged. It’s all part of dealing with the challenges and changes life hands us every day.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

But some people deal with mood swings so dramatic that they tend to disrupt every aspect of their lives, from careers to relationships. These extreme highs and lows can be caused by an organic brain condition known as bipolar disorder.

If you or someone you know suffers from mood swings that seem impossible to control, it’s time to learn more about bipolar disorder. The good news is that this condition can be successfully treated. Millions of people with bipolar disorder have found the resources and support they need to control their moods and live in good health.

Bipolar disorder in children is possible. It's most often diagnosed in older children and teenagers, but bipolar disorder can occur in children of any age. As in adults, bipolar disorder in children can cause mood swings from the highs of hyperactivity or euphoria (mania) to the lows of serious depression.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Emotional upheaval and unruly behaviors are a normal part of childhood and the teen years, and in most cases they aren't a sign of a mental health problem that requires treatment. All kids have rough periods — it's normal to feel down, irritable, angry, hyperactive or rebellious at times. However, if your child's symptoms are severe, ongoing or causing significant problems, it may be more than just a phase.

Here are some signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder in children:

  • Severe mood swings that are different from their usual mood swings
  • Hyperactive, impulsive, aggressive or socially inappropriate behavior
  • Risky and reckless behaviors that are out of character, such as having frequent casual sex with many different partners (sexual promiscuity), alcohol or drug abuse, or wild spending sprees
  • Insomnia or significantly decreased need for sleep
  • Depressed or irritable mood most of the day, nearly every day during a depressive episode
  • Grandiose and inflated view of own capabilities
  • Suicidal thoughts or behaviors in older children and teens

Children with bipolar disorder experience symptoms in distinct episodes. Between these episodes, children return to their usual behavior and mood.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Keep in mind, a number of other childhood disorders cause bipolar-like symptoms, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, anxiety disorders and major depression. Diagnosis can be challenging because these and other mental health conditions often occur along with bipolar disorder.

If your child has serious mood swings, depression or behavior problems, consult a mental health provider who specializes in working with children and teens. Mood and behavior issues caused by bipolar disorder or other mental health conditions can lead to major difficulties. Early treatment can help prevent serious consequences and decrease the impact of mental health problems on your child as he or she gets older.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Over the past decade, Bipolar mood disorder (BD) gets recognized as a pathology that could be presented in the younger population (1). BD is a controversial diagnosis, and its exact clinical characteristics are subject to significant debate (2,3). The incidence of BD is estimated between 0.2% and 0.4% and it demonstrates the pediatric BD as a significant public health problem. In children and adolescents, symptoms can have different meanings based on the developmental level of the child (4).

Irritability and emotional liability have been described as the most common symptoms, while elated mood and grandiosity have been described as the most cardinal symptoms in pediatric BD (2). In these patients BD often overlaps or occurs in combination with other disorders such as Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 80-90% of children, depression and anxiety (5). A confirmed positive familial history is the single most robust risk factor for developing the illness given a high heritability (6). Pediatric BD may become a more serious problem in the future, because of the age of its onset which may be getting younger in more recent birth cohorts (7). The present report describes a case of bipolar disorder with an onset in childhood.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

In May 2009, a 5.5 years old girl was refereed to the child psychiatric clinic for further assessments. She was born in Afghanistan and until the time of gathering data she was living in Iran. She had two siblings and she was the youngest one. They had no physical and/or mental abnormalities. Their parents were consanguineous and they had no abnormalities either. The patient’s uncle was diagnosed with BD several years ago. The socio economic level of the family was low. The patient didn't have any past psychiatric or medical problems. Her symptoms started about 6 months ago by some rapid cycles of mood swings and she showed marked mood liability, distractibility and rages and explosive temper tantrums (lasting up to several hours). At each episode she was starting to laugh most of the time even whole night for about two weeks. She didn't show talkativeness and impairment in perception or thought. After passing this phase, she was crying with the same pattern for another two weeks. Her behavior was clingy and her appetite has decreased during the depressive phases. Meanwhile she has started to scare while sleeping and also using the bathroom or toilet, this situation got severe since 2 months ago. Then after a while she also scared from other people and children; she wanted to be hugged and being protected by her parents all the times. Since then she always repeated the sentence “I want to be clean”, but she showed no compulsive symptoms. Based on these symptoms she had a separation anxiety problem but the parents didn't seek any help for her problem. Her attention span had decreased. She was also very aggressive and had marked irritability and she bit her nails. She had distractibility, hyperactivity and labile emotion and also restlessness and fidgetiness. Her sleep was decreased as well. Her social interaction was poor. She had no oppositional behavior, racing thoughts or grandiosity. She also had no difficulty getting up in the morning, bed wetting or night terrors. There were no signs or symptoms of compulsive behavior, tics, paranoia, hallucinations and delusions in her. The parents didn't mention any cruelty to animals in her. She didn't have any suicidal ideation. The child's developmental history was normal but her emotional development was impaired. About 6 months ago she had visited by a general psychiatrist and risperidon was prescribed for her but she refused to get it. There is no report about the diagnosis on that time. At our clinic, a child psychiatrist and a general psychiatrist visited her. She had a typical full-blown BD that rarely is seen in the children. The diagnosis was based on DSM-IV-TR criteria for BD. There were no comorbidities. Based on our diagnosis, we strongly suggested treating her at in-patient psychiatric setting, but her family refused to admit her at the hospital.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

During our observation she had severe mood labiality, behavioral disturbances and decreased need to sleep. She didn't accept to eat tablet, therefore the only mood stabilizer that is accessible in syrup form (valprovate 200mg/day) was prescribed. Her biochemistry and thyroid function tests were normal. No impairment was reported in EEG and brain imaging. In June 2009, we followed her up by speaking to her mother via telephone. The patient had a very poor compliance and didn't take her medication so she didn't have any changes in her behavioral problems but her mood labiality got milder without any medication. In fact it is accounted as a form of child neglect which parents ignore the right of child to receive the treatment.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Dealing with ADHD is a challenge. Bipolar disorder? Even harder. And when the two of them occur together, it can be downright dangerous. Here’s how to sort out symptoms and get adequate treatment now.

Richard, 31, had been diagnosed with ADHD at 12, but he felt that the diagnosis did not explain some of his disabling symptoms. He suffered from terrible depressive episodes and had weeks when he was consistently restless, agitated, and unable to sleep.

His therapist said that people with ADHD often had mood fluctuations. Richard did not find the ADHD stimulants that his doctor prescribed to be helpful, and he began to feel worthless and socially isolated.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Jack, 17, was diagnosed with ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder at age four. His mother said that on some days “he would wake up on the destructive side of the bed.” Instead of tantrums, she endured rages over things that, on other days, didn’t anger him. He attempted suicide at 16, after reporting that he couldn’t live in a world that was “too loud” for him.

Richard and Jack had ADHD, but they also suffered from Bipolar Disorder (BD), characterized by episodes of depression and of elevated mood states, referred to as hypomanic or manic episodes.

Approximately 10 million people in the United States have BD. Research studies show that about 70 percent of people with the condition also have ADHD, and that 20 percent of people with ADHD will develop Bipolar Disorder. The tragedy is that, when the disorders co-occur, the diagnoses are often missed. It can take up to 17 years for patients to receive a diagnosis of BD. As with any co-occurring disorder, it is important to receive the right diagnosis as early as possible to treat the condition effectively.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Tristan had struggled with BD for 12 years. “I had been told I had something called ‘Limbic and Ring of Fire ADHD,’ which could be treated with supplements. After the treatment, I still couldn’t get my life together, so I figured I was a loser.” After a bout of alcoholism and two suicide attempts, he was assessed by a specialist who understood both conditions and was diagnosed with ADHD and BD. Tristan is now happier than ever before.

It is understandable that doctors confuse bipolar symptoms for those of ADHD. Both conditions involve impulsivity, irritability, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation, sleep problems, a racing brain, and problems with maintaining attention. But on deeper examination, there are ways to distinguish one condition from the other.

1. Persistent, sad, or irritable mood. Francis, 14, would wake up feeling “completely gray. I knew that meant the beginning of what I call one of my ‘doomdays.’ I never knew why I felt that way, and it lasted for two or three days sometimes.” This is a classic depressive episode commonly seen with BD.

Lilia, diagnosed with ADHD, could always pinpoint the reason for her moods — a break-up, a poor grade on a test, or a fight with a friend. She saw that her depressive moods were caused by external events. In BD, the mood shifts, which can be rapid and intense, seem to come from the inside, regardless of what is happening externally.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

2. Loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities. One of the first signs of depression for Indigo, 17, was not wanting to play the guitar. “With ADHD, I get bored quickly and lose interest in something. But with BD depression, I lose interest in everything.”

3. Significant changes in appetite, body weight, and sleep patterns.The key here is context. Those with ADHD have weight fluctuations or periods when they are sleeping too much or too little. These are often caused by the activities people participate in. When Mario is engaged in periods of hyperfocus (due to procrastination), he works 10-12 hours straight, and feels he cannot stop to eat for fear that he will lose momentum. Kate, 19, who had BD, lost her appetite and couldn’t sleep for six or seven days at a time.

4. Low energy and concentration. Many people with ADHD become fatigued, particularly in situations when their executive functions are taxed. Trouble in focusing and paying attention comes with situations that are boring and not stimulating to them. Vincenzo, 28, who has both ADHD and BD, has learned the signs of an oncoming depressive episode. “It is as if I am walking in molasses through life, even in situations where the day before I was dancing. My ability to focus is completely shot in a way that makes ADHD look like a cakewalk.”Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

5. Feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide. One of the major distinctions between ADHD and a depressive episode is feeling worthless, which can lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Fifty percent of people with BD attempt suicide, and 20 percent eventually kill themselves.

Manic Episodes: The Other Side of BD

1. Severe changes in mood. The hallmark of a manic or hypomanic (a less intense but still potentially disabling) episode is a severe shift in mood, in which someone becomes extremely irritable or inappropriately elated without any external reason. These mood states last for hours (as do mixed manic episodes), days, or weeks. With ADHD, irritability is often the result of boredom, sleep deprivation, a stressful situation, or heavy demands on executive functioning. A person having a manic episode feels irritable, regardless of what is going on.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

2. Inflated self-esteem and grandiosity. When patients are in the throes of a manic episode, their sense of themselves can become grandiose or narcissistic. Sometimes it is subtle (“I am a better driver than anyone I know”), and other times it can be detached from reality (“I have an amazing ability to do everything”).

3. Increased, revved-up energy. Kathleen, 30, described her manic episodes as “a flurry of uncontrolled energy.” With ADHD, people can feel excited and energetic; manic energy, however, feels scary, uncontrolled, and uncontained.

4. Impulsive or self-destructive behaviors. Hypersexuality, substance abuse, reckless driving, and conflict with others are common in mania. With ADHD, impulsive acts are driven by something someone wants to do. With BD, people having a manic episode feel driven to do acts that, when not manic, they would have no desire to do.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

5. Psychosis. Having thoughts that are detached from reality is not a symptom of ADHD, but that is a symptom of a severe depression or mania. Jeff, 36, believed he was Jesus Christ when manic, while Kelly, 14, heard “angels talking.”

Although ADHD and BD are characterized by emotional dysregulation, the mood experiences associated with BD tend to be longer, more chronic in nature, more cyclical, and triggered more easily than in ADHD.

BD runs in families, so someone is at increased risk if he or she has a family member who has been diagnosed with it. Many times BD goes undiagnosed, so it is a good idea for clinicians to ask if anyone in the family has attempted or committed suicide, has had electroconvulsive shock therapy, or has been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

It is essential that a clinician evaluate a patient for ADHD when BD is part of the picture. The debilitating and tormenting nature of this illness cannot be overestimated, especially in someone who also has ADHD. Since the comorbidity rates are high, any time someone is diagnosed with one, the presence of the other should always be looked for.

Studies of people who have both ADHD and BD demonstrate that they have more severe ADHD symptoms, have an earlier age of onset for BD, and have more psychiatric disorders than those with ADHD alone. When compared to patients with BD only, patients with both ADHD and BD tend to be male, and most of them have been diagnosed with conduct disorder or ODD.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Keep in mind that these studies involved many people who were not identified early and suffered for years without the proper diagnoses. Early diagnosis and treatment — which is different for each disorder — are essential in changing the prognosis. With proper medication, therapy, and life management, a patient can live a full, healthy life. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay Assignment Paper

Warning: file_get_contents(domain/sexxx.top.txt): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /www/wwwroot/link123456.online/getlink/index.php on line 27

Warning: file_get_contents(domain/mp3play.online.txt): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /www/wwwroot/link123456.online/getlink/index.php on line 27