PTSD by Sumedha Shastry

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition triggered by either witnessing or experiencing a terrifying event. These events can be anything from a car crash or childhood abuse to death. Not only does PTSD cause problems in work situations and relationships, it interferes with your ability to do daily tasks. It is important to learn about PTSD to help yourself or someone else deal with any disturbing thoughts or feelings regarding the event.

Some risk factors of this mental health condition include: experiencing long lasting trauma, trauma early in life (childhood abuse), having a job that deals with traumatic events (military personnel), dealing with other health health problems such as anxiety or depression, substance misuse, or lacking a good support system.

Symptoms of PTSD are usually grouped into four types: avoidance, negative changes in thinking or mood, intrusive memories, and physical or emotional reactions. Some examples include recurrent memories of an event, flashbacks, feeling emotionally numb, negative thoughts about yourself or others, avoiding a place or person, and memory problems regarding the event. These symptoms vary from person to person and event to event and can occur in any stressed moments or after having reminders about the traumatic event.

If you are not sure if you have PTSD or are just experiencing stress and nightmares, you should talk to your doctor. To diagnose this condition, doctors do the following: Perform a physical exam, Do a psychological evaluation, and Use the criteria in DSM5. In the physical exam, doctors check for medical problems that may relate to the symptoms. In the psychological evaluation, you may be asked about your signs and symptoms and the events that led up to them that point to any other reason for your symptoms. Lastly, DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may be referred to.

Psychotherapy, the primary treatment, helps people who deal with PTSD learn to address their symptoms, think better about themselves and the world, learn ways to cope with symptoms, and treat any other problems like depression or misuse of drugs. You can also join a support group to talk about what you are going through or find ways to destress like go on a walk or read a book.

There are always ways to deal with PTSD, and getting timely help is the key solution. To prevent yourself from turning to unhealthy coping strategies like drugs or alcohol, you should seek a mental health professional or go to therapy. This can also stop your PTSD symptoms from getting any worse. Just know that you are not responsible for PTSD or dealing with it on your own. If you have someone you love who is dealing with PTSD: learn about it, offer to attend medical appointments with them, listen to them, seek help if you need it, and help keep their spirits up. There are ways to deal with PTSD, so seek them out when or if you need them.

Resource:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355973