The Plymouth Center for Behavioral Health |

What Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Causes And Symptoms

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that occurs in certain people after they have witnessed a stunning, frightening, or dangerous incident. It is normal to experience fear both during and after a distressing event. The “fight-or-flight” reaction, which enables us to escape or deal with impending threats, includes fear. After a traumatic event, people may have a variety of reactions, however, the majority eventually get over their initial symptoms. Those who still have issues may be given a PTSD diagnosis.

What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its symptoms?

When a person experiences or witnesses a frightful, frightening, horrifying, or dangerous incident, they may experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a real disorder. When someone’s life is in danger or they suffer a serious injury, these unpleasant or traumatic situations typically involve these circumstances. Even when there is no immediate risk, PTSD can cause anxiety or worry in children and adults.

What are the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

PTSD symptoms can continue for months or years. PTSD symptoms can include flashbacks or the sensation that the incident is reoccurring.

  • Nightmares or difficulty sleeping.
  • Feeling isolated or cut off from others.
  • Loss of interest in things.
  • Having irrational behaviors, such as angry outbursts.
  • Having anxiety, regret, or sadness.
  • Thoughts that are terrifying.
  • Having difficulty focusing.
  • Experiencing bodily discomforts, such as headaches or stomachaches.
  • Avoiding anything that is directly related to traumatic situations, whether it be memories, thoughts, or emotions.
  • Difficulties with recall.
  • Negative ideas about oneself or other people.
  • Irritability.
  • Feeling especially watchful.
  • Frequent shock.
  • PTSD patients also exhibit signs of anxiety, sadness, and substance abuse.

How do you test for PTSD?

There are two primary types of PTSD test used in :

  • Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS): The CAPS, which was developed by the National Centre for PTSD professionals, is one of the most extensively used PTSD interviews. You are asked how frequently and how severely you experience PTSD symptoms. Other PTSD symptoms that frequently manifest are also addressed by the CAPS, PTSD test.
  • Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID): Another popular examination is the SCID. A variety of mental health conditions, including PTSD, can be evaluated with the SCID.
  • PTSD Checklist (PCL): Another commonly used tool created by personnel at the National Centre for PTSD is the PCL. In this PTSD test, you are asked how frequently you have each PTSD symptom over the course of a month. This measurement may also be used by doctors to track the evolution of your PTSD symptoms, such as during a period of therapy.

What is PTSD caused by?

After going through a terrible experience, Signs of emotional trauma in Adults may develop. This includes witnessing or learning about a distressing event. It may result from seeing, seeing, or hearing about a single, numerous, or repeated incident, such as:

  • Terrible accidents.
  • Abuse of any kind, including domestic or child abuse, physical and sexual.
  • Emotional abuse.
  • Racism-related trauma.
  • Facing trauma at work, such as working in the military, emergency services, or aid organizations.
  • Trauma caused by severe medical conditions or childbirth.
  • Brutal treatment, conflict, and war.

However, there are other potential causes as well. What matters is how you personally interpret the incident or events. Traumatic experiences may alter our perception of life’s fairness, safety, and security. However, PTSD does not happen to everyone who encounters trauma. The impact of the encounter on you will determine your chances of acquiring PTSD. The chance of developing PTSD increases if the distressing event:

  • Unanticipated
  • Continues for a very long period.
  • Entails being suffocated.
  • A lot of deaths.
  • Entails the perception of a life threat.
  • Damages the body in some way.
  • Concerns young people.

Person have a higher chance of acquiring Signs of emotional trauma in Adults, if adult currently or in the past have struggled with despair or anxiety.

How long does it take to fully recover from PTSD?

Symptoms of PTSD typically arise quickly after the tragedy. In the initial weeks and months following the trauma, these symptoms often disappear on their own for most people. Some people’s symptoms of PTSD may last for a long time, especially if they are left untreated. Symptoms of PTSD might remain pretty consistent in severity. The severity of a person’s symptoms may fluctuate over time, with some individuals experiencing less severe symptoms than others. The signs and symptoms of PTSD might develop during stressful periods or when trauma survivors are reminded of the incident. The effectiveness of treatment may also affect how long PTSD stays.

What medication is used to prevent PTSD?

PTSD symptoms may be managed with medication. Additionally, medication’s ability to reduce symptoms enables many people to engage in psychotherapy more effectively. The primary symptoms of PTSD are frequently treated with antidepressants, particularly SSRIs and SNRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) such as adderall, Xanax(alprazolam), Klonopin, Valium, or Ativan(Lorazepam). These PTSD medication may be utilized independently or in conjunction with other therapies such as psychotherapy. Other PTSD medication may be used to address the nightmares and sleep issues that plague many PTSD symptoms or to lessen anxiety and physical agitation.

How can PTSD be treated?/ What is the most effective treatment for PTSD?

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): It is a cognitive behavioural therapy that is evidence-based and specifically developed for PTSD treatment and associated symptoms. It focuses on transforming distressing negative feelings.
  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy: This employs repeated, thorough picturing of the trauma or gradual exposures to symptom “triggers” in a secure, controlled setting to assist a person in confronting and gaining control of anxiety and suffering, as well as learning to cope.
  • Trauma-Focused Therapy (TFT): It is a research-backed therapy strategy for children and adolescents that combines trauma-sensitive therapies with cognitive behavioural, family, and humanistic concepts and methodologies.
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): For PTSD is a trauma-focused psychotherapy that is delivered over a period of around three months. This form of PTSD treatment aids in the reprocessing of traumatic memories so that they might be perceived differently in the future. 
  • Group therapy: Participants support one another in realizing that many individuals would have reacted and felt the same way.
  • Other psychotherapies: Such as interpersonal, supportive, and psychodynamic therapy, concentrate on the emotional and interpersonal elements of PTSD. These might be useful for those who don’t want to be around things that remind them of their traumas.
  • Alternative and Complementary Therapies: According to experts, currently investigating how much of a role acupuncture, yoga, and meditation can play in reducing the symptoms of PTSD.

For More Information Visit: Plymouth Behavioral Health