Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Origin: Why PTSD is formed

When we think of disease, the first that comes to mind physical health. We think about major diseases like cancer or AIDS, but we often overlook the diseases we cannot see. When we do consider mental health, we likely are to think firstly of depression or anxiety, maybe insomnia or amnesia. A disease commonly overlooked is PTSD, which includes symptoms of all of the previously mentioned mental illnesses, plus more. Maybe you've heard of PTSD. Perhaps you know someone who suffers from it, or maybe you do yourself, but for those who don't know much about this disease, please keep reading; for those that know of this disease, please do as well, this article will provide knowledge and tips that you may not have known before.

Please be respectful of the testimonies you will read, knowing this is a real illness that affects millions.

Sometimes the news covers this topic, but how do they usually present it? They take a wounded soldier and slap the title "PTSD VICTIM" on him/her.

Soldiers are the most likely to suffer this illness and are also most likely to have it for a longer period of time with more severe symptoms... But PTSD also affects other trauma survivors. Victims of rape, attempted murder, burglary, and really any crime that can be traumatic for anyone can are likely to develop PTSD; oftentimes people that simply witness these crimes also form PTSD.

There is no certain profession, gender, age or race for this disease - it can affect anyone. From a 90 year old man to a 6 year old girl, this disease leaves many people in a state of perpetual disaster.

"The science behind PTSD"

I'll keep this simple because many people just don't get science, and will all it's terms and scientific names, that's understandable.

PTSD affects the brain basically by jumping into 'danger mode' and never coming out of it.

When a person experiences or witnesses a crime, their brain goes into 'danger mode'; this means they are alert, cautious hyped with adrenaline, and on the look for any possible threats. This is normal, the same thing happens when we are jumped by a friend - the difference is, PTSD survivors don't come out of this 'danger mode' a few seconds later. They are forever trapped in this state of fear and terror, of watching for danger and anything that might possibly hurt them.

Many people with PTSD will have it for less than a month, but if it persists for more than 30 days, treatment should be sought out. Most people suffer PTSD for years on end, many experience it for decades. Some PTSD survivors have symptoms for a few months or years, and then it stops; they think that it's all over, and somehow they were cured, but then a decade later the symptoms come back-even worse than before.

Two obvious ways one can tell someone has PTSD is by noticing the more visible issues they make have; such as hyper-vigilance and hyper-arousal.

Hyper-vigilance is the state of being overly alert and always on the lookout for both real and presumed dangers.

Hyper-arousal is when a person has a body that is always tense and/or when they have an exxagerated startle response.

Symptoms of PTSD vary from person to person, some experiencing only a couple and others experiencing all of them. The 24 known symptoms are often classified into 5 groups:

INTRUSIVE MEMORIES

• Repetitive, unwanted memories of the traumatic event.

• Having vivid memories of the event that feel as if it were happening again. (Flashbacks)

• Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event.

• Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something or someone that reminds you of the trauma (such as heavy breathing, accelerated heart rate, or shaking limbs)

AVOIDANCE

• Attempting to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event

• Avoiding people, places or activities that remind you of the traumatic event.

  NEGATIVE CHANGES IN MOOD OR BEHAVIOR

• Negative thoughts about yourself, other people, or the world.

• Hopelessness about the future

• Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event

• Difficulty maintaining close relationships (due to various symptoms of PTSD)

• Feeling detached from family or friends (you cannot connect, or they don't seem to understand you)

• Lack of interest in activities you previously enjoyed

• Difficulty experiencing positive emotions

• Feeling emotionally numb(you cannot feel any emotions or can only experience negative ones)

• Experiencing disembodiment (feeling as though someone else has taken control of your body or seeing your body as if from another person's Perspective)

CHANGES IN PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL REACTIONS

• Being easily startled

• Always being alert and on the look out for danger

• Risky behavior, such as participating in activities that may cause harm (eg. Driving too fast, drinking, standing on a ledge, attempting suicide, etc.)

• Having difficulty sleeping (i.e. insomia)

• Difficulty concentrating

• Irritability, angry outbursts or agressive behavior

• Overwhelming guilt or shame

SYMPTOMS MOST COMMONLY EXPERIENCED IN YOUNG CHILDREN

• Re-enacting the traumatic event or aspects of it through play

• Frightening dreams that may or may not include aspects of the traumatic event

PTSD can affect people in many different ways, and it's sad just to hear about the general symptoms- but let's look at how this all actually affects the lifestyle of the survivors.

Jason's Story is fictional, but is based upon real testimonies.

Jason is a young man battling PTSD. He joined the police forced to help people, and he is proud of himself for serving his country - but now he sees himself as 'broken'.

As he grabs himself a cup of coffee, he sets it down on the table gently. He pours himself the steaming liquid, hand as steady as can be, but he suddenly looses his grip, and the coffee pot is sent into a free-fall.

CRASH

Glass shatters at his feet, he stops breathing. Gun shots pound into his skull as he hears the sound of the bullet that shot him a couple of months ago.

He cries out suddenly, gripping his head as he curls into himself, curling into a ball on the glass-littered floor.

His heart pounds in his chest whilst tears pour down his cheeks. He succumbs to the pain and screams as his body shakes violently with fear and pain.

Sobs wrack his body as visions of a silver gun pressed to his head pass over his eyelashes. He feels lost, broken.. Out of control. It's like it's happening again. All over again.

"Our brains run our bodies So when we can't control our brain, How do we control..... Anything?"

A simple, unexpected event-something as small as a coffee pot breaking unexpectedly, can send someone into utter turmoil. Jason is an example of actual people who go through these things on a daily basis.

Now let's visit Sarah*.

Sarah- is not a fake person nor is her testimony fake. All of what is spoken of sarah* and everything she herself says is true.

Sarah is not her real name, it has been altered for privacy reasons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah is a little girl of nine years. She has been raped by her older brother for as long as she can remember - which is when she was six. She does not remember the first time T happened, so she is not sure when it actually began. At this point in time, she considers herself 'molested', not understanding that she has been raped and victimized by her sibling.

It's almost one am, the sky is pitch black and all the animals are sleeping, yet young Sarah* lies awake in her bed. Tears dribble down her cheeks as she writhes in emotional pain. Her hands are clutched together in prayer, but brought up to smother her face as she begs for the images to stop -the images of her brother and what he did to her. Her breathing is heavy, and her heart races as it feels as if it's happening all over again. She can't control it. Sarah watches the hand reach out to her in vivid color, she feels her skin tingle where we had touched her, and she cries more, pleading with God that he will save her from these wretched memories. Little did she know they were actually flashbacks, vivid memories that felt so real and that she could not control no matter what she did.

She curls into a ball and pries her eyes open to stare at the ceiling, but she can still see it all. Him, her, the couch, the nightlight. Everything. "Please, God, make it stop," she begs as her heart seems to be crushed within her chest. At this moment, she just wants to die. She wishes she had never been born.

"I feel like I've lost control of myself, like I'm trapped and can't do anything."

Some. People may think a flashback would be cool, they could even relive a cool memory, but the truth is that they really aren't. They can make a person feel trapped and broken, like they can't control anything. And that's just about the worst feeling there is.

Now let's look at Sarah* a few years after this incident. Remember that Sarah's* Story is genuine and true.

Lead Image Source: https://pin.it/H0WWFph

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