Army until he suffered a tramatic head injury during a Humvee accident in Iraq in 2006, and said he may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The perpetrator was later convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life sentence despite his defense of suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. (Dillon, 2008) Posttraumatic stress disorder is characterized by obsessions, which cause significant anxiety or distress, and/or by compulsions which serve to neutralize anxiety.
According to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, “the essential feature of posttraumatic stress disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury. ” (American Psychiatric Association, 2005) Many Americans experience individual traumatic events ranging from car and airplane accidents to sexual assault and domestic violence to events that took place while serving in the military.
Research shows that in one out of ten Americans, the traumatic event causes a cascade of psychological and biological changes known as post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder, changes the biology of the brain. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography) scans show changes in the way memories are stored in the brain. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an environmental shock that changes your brain, and scientists do not know if it is reversible.
The Essay on Coping with Traumatic Life Events
“All this time, I thought I was learning to live, when all along, I was learning to die.” So said Leonardo da Vinci. We read his words, smile and think to ourselves that they don’t really apply to us. Why so? Most Westerners run from even the talk of death. True, we cry at movies like Terms of Endearment when dying is unrealistically romanticized; we weep at funerals, cheer when the bad guys die ...
According to the DSM, diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, there are three different specifiers for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, acute, chronic and delayed onset. Acute Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is when the duration of the symptoms is less than three months. Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder should be used when the symptoms last three months or longer. Delayed onset is when there is at least six months have passed between the traumatic event and the onset of symptoms. (American Psychiatric Association, 2005)
There are three main symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, flashbacks, emotional detachment, and jumpiness. Flashbacks are when a person goes back to the particular event and relives it over again, taking them out of reality, and they believe it is happening again. Emotional detachment is when someone becomes not very family oriented, or they just have no emotions at all. They do not genuinely care about much. Jumpiness is when a small noise can make someone jump. It also affects sleeping and could affect job performance. They often overreact over the littlest things.
If these symptoms last longer than a month that is when medical attention should be considered. (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 2013) To be diagnosed, a person must meet with a mental health professional. There are certain requirements that must be met. They have to have experienced some sort of traumatic event and have emotional responses to the event. They also need to experience a combination of symptoms for some time following the event. However, just because someone has experienced a traumatic event, does not necessarily mean they will suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2005)
People who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder should seek treatment. Treatments range from therapy to medication. Group therapy, with others that have gone through a similar experience can be helpful. One on therapy is also because the person with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can sit down with someone, one on one, and talk their issues out. There are two medications that are used, and proven to be effective. Zoloft and Paxil work similar to Prozac and antidepressants, helping to overcome depression and anxiety.
The Term Paper on Natural Disasters, Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Disasters characteristically occur quickly leaving behind comprehensive physiological and psychological impairment (Fullerton, Robert, & Wang, 2004). Natural disasters specifically are defined by the world health organization (1980) as an ecological phenomenon that occurs suddenly and is of sufficient magnitude to require external assistance, additionally the DSM-IV defines a traumatic event ...
Medications have also been shown to be effective. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD. Cognitive behavioral therapy appears to be the most effective type of counseling for PTSD. There are different types of cognitive behavioral therapies such as cognitive therapy and exposure therapy. There is also a similar kind of therapy called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing that is used for PTSD. There is no prevention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Traumatic events are unpredictable and random; therefore, there is no way in having any kind of prevention. (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 2013) In conclusion, identifying people with PTSD can be difficult and this disorder is often unrecognized. PTSD is unique among psychiatric disorders in that it is identified not only by symptoms. However if you or someone you know may have PTSD they should seek medical attention for a medical professional that has dealt with PTSD. Not seeking treatment can not only hurt you mentally, physically, and emotionally but also affect your daily life and family.
Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. (2005).
309. 81 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In A. P. Association, DSM-IV-TR (pp. 463-469).
Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing. Dillon, S. (2008, July 8).
Man facing two murder charges. Retrieved from The Courier: http://www. thecourier. com/Issues/2008/Jul/08/ar_news_070808_story3. asp? d=070808_story3,2008,Jul,08&c=n Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. (2013).
Retrieved from Webmd. com: http://www. webmd. com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
The Essay on Bipolar Disorder People Stress Depression
I have been diagnosed with what is called a Bipolar disorder. For all of my life I have been moody, so I guess when my I had mood swings my parents chalked it up to being a teenager. I always knew that it was more than just moodiness, but I had no idea what was wrong with me. When I am in a manic state I feel empowered and clever. In this phase, people find me very charismatic I also love myself ...
