It was then called shell shock, combat exhaustion, nostalgia, railroad spine. History has given it so many names, but all described the same set of behavior when a person has experienced or witnessed a very traumatic event. Now, it is recognized as a medical condition and in some countries, people who have the disorder are considered legally invalid or disabled.
In 1980, PTSD officially entered the psychology jargon and mainstream vocabulary. As the term was coined, so are many interventions and therapies, and today, patients can have the convenience of getting telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder. But in order to prevent such disorder, one must understand how it is caused and what are the warning signs.
A person who is at risk for PTSD is defined under a certain criteria. Factors include getting hurt or seeing people getting hurt or killed, surviving a dangerous or traumatic event, feelings of extreme fear and helplessness, a history of mental illness, and having little or no support socially after experiencing the trauma. Resiliency factors, on the other hand, include being able to find social support, maintaining a coping strategy, capacity to respond effectively in times of crisis in spite of fear, and feeling good about his behavior when faced with harm.
As the psychological well being of a person is innate as much as it is environmental, genes play a crucial role in determining if an individual is at risk. Stathmin is a protein found in our genes that elicits the making of fear memories. Researchers have also found out that a version of the 5 HTTLPR gene control the production of serotonin, the hormone that fuels the fear response.
Certain brain areas are also in charge of dealing with trauma and fear. When we our afraid, our amygdala takes care of what kind of emotion, learning, and memory will be produced. Meanwhile, when it comes to judgment and resolutions, our prefrontal cortex acts as the frontier. Studying genes and the human brain is the key to unlocking the probability of PTSD before it can be developed or triggered.
Diagnosis requires one re experiencing symptom, two hyperarousal and three avoidance symptoms. Re experiencing symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and scary thoughts may affect the person daily, such that it would drastically intervene in the life of the afflicted. Objects, words, and certain situations may trigger these symptoms.
Avoidance symptoms such as being numb emotionally, staying away from objects or places that remind them of the terrible experience, feelings of guilt, anxiety and depression, and such can make a patient modify his daily routine in order to keep himself away from all the reminders. He might also lose interest in the things he used to enjoy before the traumatic event. He may also have trouble in recalling the details of the said event.
Hyperarousal signs consists of feeling agitated, tense, restless, and being easily startled. Patients would sometimes have outbursts and would have trouble sleeping, eventually leading to insomnia. These signs do not need triggers, but are consistent all throughout the routine of the person who has PTSD. Although these are normal responses after a violent, terrible, or dangerous event, acute stress disorder is different from PTSD.
Psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy are used to treat patients with post traumatic stress disorder. Approved medications include sertraline and paroxetine. Critical incident stress debriefing is applied right after mass tragedies in order to prevent the syndrome as early as possible.
In 1980, PTSD officially entered the psychology jargon and mainstream vocabulary. As the term was coined, so are many interventions and therapies, and today, patients can have the convenience of getting telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder. But in order to prevent such disorder, one must understand how it is caused and what are the warning signs.
A person who is at risk for PTSD is defined under a certain criteria. Factors include getting hurt or seeing people getting hurt or killed, surviving a dangerous or traumatic event, feelings of extreme fear and helplessness, a history of mental illness, and having little or no support socially after experiencing the trauma. Resiliency factors, on the other hand, include being able to find social support, maintaining a coping strategy, capacity to respond effectively in times of crisis in spite of fear, and feeling good about his behavior when faced with harm.
As the psychological well being of a person is innate as much as it is environmental, genes play a crucial role in determining if an individual is at risk. Stathmin is a protein found in our genes that elicits the making of fear memories. Researchers have also found out that a version of the 5 HTTLPR gene control the production of serotonin, the hormone that fuels the fear response.
Certain brain areas are also in charge of dealing with trauma and fear. When we our afraid, our amygdala takes care of what kind of emotion, learning, and memory will be produced. Meanwhile, when it comes to judgment and resolutions, our prefrontal cortex acts as the frontier. Studying genes and the human brain is the key to unlocking the probability of PTSD before it can be developed or triggered.
Diagnosis requires one re experiencing symptom, two hyperarousal and three avoidance symptoms. Re experiencing symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and scary thoughts may affect the person daily, such that it would drastically intervene in the life of the afflicted. Objects, words, and certain situations may trigger these symptoms.
Avoidance symptoms such as being numb emotionally, staying away from objects or places that remind them of the terrible experience, feelings of guilt, anxiety and depression, and such can make a patient modify his daily routine in order to keep himself away from all the reminders. He might also lose interest in the things he used to enjoy before the traumatic event. He may also have trouble in recalling the details of the said event.
Hyperarousal signs consists of feeling agitated, tense, restless, and being easily startled. Patients would sometimes have outbursts and would have trouble sleeping, eventually leading to insomnia. These signs do not need triggers, but are consistent all throughout the routine of the person who has PTSD. Although these are normal responses after a violent, terrible, or dangerous event, acute stress disorder is different from PTSD.
Psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy are used to treat patients with post traumatic stress disorder. Approved medications include sertraline and paroxetine. Critical incident stress debriefing is applied right after mass tragedies in order to prevent the syndrome as early as possible.
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