PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
By: Mykah McKibben Posttraumatic stress disorder is a mental disorder that can develop after a person has been exposed to traumatic event, such as assault, warfare, traffic collision, or other threats on a person’s life. Many people who have this show symptoms that include disturbing thoughts, feelings, dreams related to the event, and trouble going to sleep or even staying asleep. Almost 8.0% of Americans suffer from PTSD or will experience it through their lifetime. Women are twice as likely to experience it then men. Women are at 10.4% and men are %.0% to develop PTSD. Almost 31% of Vietnam veterans, 10% of Gulf War veterans, and 11% veterans of Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. Sometimes PTSD can be extreme in some cases, that the people affected by it cannot work anymore. There are five different types of PTSD which are Normal Stress Response, Acute Stress Disorder, Uncomplicated PTSD, Comorbid PTSD, and Complex PTSD. Normal Stress Response occurs when a healthy adult has been exposed to a single discrete traumatic event. Some individuals can achieve complete recovery within a few weeks. Acute Stress Disorder is characterized by panic reactions, mental confusion, dissociation, severe insomnia, suspiciousness, being unable to manage even basic self-care, and even relationship activities. Uncomplicated PTSD involves persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event, avoidance of the stimuli associated with the trauma, and emotional numbing. Comorbid PTSD is a psychiatric disorder and is actually more common than uncomplicated PTSD. PTSD is usually associated with one other psychiatric disorder such as depression, alcohol or substance abuse, panic disorder, and other disorders involving anxiety. Complex PTSD (sometimes called “Disorder of Extreme Stress”) is found among individuals who have been exposed to prolonged traumatic circumstances, especially during childhood, such as abuse. People diagnosed with this are often also diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder or dissociative disorder. People who are diagnosed with PTSD, Depression, and/or Anxiety, don’t always show these signs. But you should always be aware and alert of these. When someone says, “What happened to you wasn’t even that bad.”, maybe it wasn’t that bad from where you saw it. But different people have different emotions, some are stronger than others and can deal with it or you’re the person who is fragile and can break at the simple change of attitude. PTSD isn’t always something you can just “get over”, sometimes it takes time or in other cases it will always be there. Mental health is an important part of a person and if someone’s mental health isn’t good and stable they might not be stable and they need reassurance or just someone there to help them. Some people firsthand struggle with Complex PTSD and know what it’s like to feel as if you have no one, that you’re unwanted, just a problem, like a nervous wreck, or maybe you just don’t want to be alive anymore. But you always have someone there. If it’s at school you should know any teacher will put time aside to listen and help you with what you’re going through. If you’re at home, reach out to a parent or family member, you could even get on your phone and call a friend or something. It’s always better to know you have someone to help you no matter what.
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