Post Traumatic Stress

Post Traumatic Stress Internet Resources

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can happen to ordinary people who experience, witness or even hear second hand about overwhelming or life-threatening situations.

After car accidents, airplane incidents, natural disasters or other potentially life threatening events, clients will often experience simple stress reactions. Human beings are highly adaptable; however people possess a wide range of emotional resiliency; and the amount of emotional resiliency a person possesses can vary at various times in their life. Post Traumatic stress results when traumatic events overwhelm, a person’s ability to cope.

The symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder can include:

	Flashbacks or reliving the memories of the event.
	Avoidance of situations that remind the client of the event. This can generalize to avoidance of places, situations or people.
	Emotional disturbances including a sense of detachment, numbing, hopelessness, a flattening of feelings, irritability, survivor’s guilt or depression.
	Problems with attention like difficulty concentrating, exaggerated startle responses and hyper-vigilance.
	Disturbances in sleep, nightmares, night terrors, insomnia and over-sleeping.
	Recurrent symptoms of stress.

For instance, after a car accident, someone who experiences Post Traumatic Stress might find that they live with intrusive thoughts about the accident or their part in the accident. They might be bothered by feelings of depression or hopelessness. They might find that they go to great lengths to avoid the accident site or events that remind them of the accident. Fear or anxiety might extend to other driving situations. For instance, driving on bridges or tunnels might become anxiety producing because of the closer proximity to other vehicles. These intrusive thoughts and feelings can debilitate a person to the point of affecting their personal relationships and their ability to work.

The good news is that simple cases of PTSD are amenable to treatment. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has repeatedly been proven effective in treating PTSD. The best results occur when treatment is offered the client soon after the incident so that the amount of time the individual suffers from these symptoms are cut short. However, even years later CBT can lead to dramatic improvements.

REFERENCES:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ ency/article/000925.htm Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Retrieved 11/8/07.

Bradley D. Grinage, MD. University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, Kansas American Academy of Family Physicians American Family Physician. Retrieved from: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20031215/2401.html.

	Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/DS00246
	National Center for PTSD: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
	American Psychological Association Help Center: http://helping.apa.org/featuredtopics/feature.php?id=6&ch=1
	United States Department of Health & Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/mentalhealth/index.html
	Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies: http://www.abct.org/dHome/
	National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists: http://www.nacbt.org/
	Anxiety Disorders Association of America: http://www.adaa.org/enduring/modules.asp

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Post Traumatic Stress Information

Post Traumatic Stress Internet Resources

REFERENCES: