Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Dealing With PTSD In Everyday Life

Dealing With PTSD in Everyday Life

            PTSD is defined as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and is a psychological disorder that has gone unnoticed for years and is now becoming quite common. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will start with Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), this will happen two to four weeks after the traumatic event. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has been called several different things from Shell Shock to Battle Fatigue. This disorder has several different key points and can come out at anytime. A person with PTSD has had something traumatic in his/her life happen to have something trigger it. The Military has been diagnosing the soldiers who have been in war. Doctors are finding that this is not only effecting military personal but also others that have been traumatized in their life.
            Dr. Matthew Freidman of the National Center for PTSD states that PTSD is a disorder that hits people whom have seen or been in a tragedy. The Tragedy can be anything from Abuse, Natural Disaster, Terrorism, and Violence. Mary McNulty written for the Gayle Virtual Reference Library has written that   PTSD will hit several people in life from Children to Adults it is not partial to anyone. There are a lot of different trigger points that can make this Disorder show up.   
            PTSD is a sickness that has its ups and downs but can affect lives of family members if person goes untreated. The families want to help the person with PTSD but the affected person needs to be the one that will make the final decision to go to a doctor to get help. The family can feel helpless at times, because they cannot make a person get help even when they need to. The person with PTSD can be very hard to deal with or live with but if you understand what is going on you might be able to speak the your loved one and get them help.     
            PTSD the psychological side and how it affects people. There are children that will see a traumatic event whether it was seeing there parent dead or something like child abuse that will bring out this anger and psychological point in the children’s life. Children are to be sheltered from the stuff that really happens in the world but see it happen without understanding. When the child grows to an adult they start to have night sweats and anger that will come at any point and time. When a person has been in the war and military they tend to see a lot and have to make a lot of decisions. The person has to kill someone and see his/her friend or neighbor die and get blown up. This can make a person go into shock and then he/she will start to dream about these horrible sights.           
            PTSD symptoms can start within three months of the traumatic event, but can go away within 6 months. PTSD does not develop until years after the initial trauma occurred  (McNulty).  Stress, depression, anxiety and substance abuse just some of the symptoms that a person with PTSD  (Military.com).  The stress of something can bring this horrible disorder to rear its ugly head. People around the person can see this but the person that has it will not know what is happening. This sometimes does not help to keep friends that do not understand. There are several symptoms for PTSD that will allow this ugly disorder to appear without a warning.
            PTSD can be triggered with sights, sounds and smells to make the ugly monster deep inside come out of hiding. When a person is seen as someone normal and then this monster comes out, this could be a scary sight. That is when people tend to run and stay away from this person, because all you see is anger. Psychologist can help a person clear up this monster.
            PTSD will not occur until years after the trauma has occurred (McNulty). What people do not realize is that this person is reliving this event or events over and over again in their mind with flashbacks too. When having these flashbacks the person will feel that this event is real and happening now. This can cause quite a lot of mental issues for a person to go through daily, hourly, or minute bases, when they are just trying to forget about it and move forward with their life. This will put anger into that person daily.
            PTSD could have hit one of your loved ones. This is something that you as a person should look back and think of what has happened in someone’s life before you judge on what type of person they are. If you look back into a person that has been suffering with PTSD but not addressed that they have it, you might see that they have a problem and it is not something that can be faulted on them. People tend to pass judgment on others without knowing their life or what has happened in it. PTSD can be treated and should be treated to help the person stop suffering with this disorder. Treatment for PTSD is getting cognitive- behavior therapy; group therapy and exposure therapy are showing promises (McNulty). The family should go to therapy with the person suffering form PTSD because they will understand what is really going on and how to help them cope with the post tramatic stress disorder. The Doctor can prescribe antidepressant, because these will help you feel less sad and worried  (United States of the Department of Veterns Affair).  The person with PTSD can chose to have individual therapy and family therapy on different days  (United States of the Department of Veterns Affair). Treatment can last for about 3 to 6 months depending on the counselor and how they feel you are doing with treatment  (United States of the Department of Veterns Affair).
            Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder does not just affect any one person but will affect the whole family if not helped. This disorder has ruined several people’s lives. If you have any signs of PSTD treatment is needed. There are not really any treatments for this disorder right now, but the doctors will teach you how to use relaxation techniques. Yoga and dance therapy help patients work with the physical as well as the emotional tensions that either promote anxiety or are created by the anxiety (McNulty).
             Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can affect a person that has had a traumatic event and should be in cognitive therapy to start the process before it gets worse. The family should go to counseling and make sure they understand what Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder is and how they can help their loved one cope with this horrible disorder.

Work Cited:
            McNulty, Mary. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” http//:go.galegroup.com, The Gale                             Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. ED. Laurie J. Fundukian. 3rd ed. Vol 3                               Detroit: Gale, 2009 1782-1787 GaleVirtual Reference Library. Web 15 Apr. 2013 
  Military.com. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” www.military.com. Web 23 April 2013
 US Department of Affairs. “Trauma and PTSD.” www.ptsd.va.gov, The National Center                                     for PTSD. N.P. Web. 21 April 2013.

            Zoroya, Gregg. “Psychologist: Nave Faces Crisis.” USA Today 17 Jan. 2007: 10A.                                   Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 April 2013

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