Abbreviations: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Abbreviations: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- PTSD

Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can occur after an individual has witnessed a psychologically traumatic event. People with this disorder feel stressed or frightened even when they are not in danger. This paper explores the theories of etiology, the factors associated with the development of the disorder and the available diagnostic and treatment options for PTSD patients.
Etiology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder The post-traumatic disorder develops in response to a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-threatening occurrence such as a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, military combat and or physical or sexual assault. …show more content…

In the event of exposure to a traumatic event “risk” factors increase while “protective” factors decrease thus increases the likelihood of a PTSD (Carlson, Dalenberg, & Muhtadie, 2008). Female gender is a risk factor. Individuals who are from ethno-racial minority backgrounds are at a greater risk as well. Exposure to traumatic stressor alone does not cause PTSD. Layne, Beck, Rimmasch, Southwick, Moreno, & Hobfoll (2008) developed a model based on three types of risk factors. “Casual risk factors” which have a direct negative impact on an individual both biologically and psychologically. The second types of risk factors are “Vulnerability factors” which include individual or environmental factors that are more likely to trigger a disease. Third, “Outcome risks” are those factors that increase the possibility that adverse outcomes will be severe if they …show more content…

Biological markers cannot yet independently assess PTSD. A variety of forms of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy involves several related techniques such as exposure therapy, cognitive restructuring, stress inoculation training and reprocessing; this type of treatment has been more promising. Sertraline and Paroxetine are the two medications approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for treatment of adults with

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