Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD; what is it, what are the symptoms, how is it diagnosed, can it be treated, what affects does it have on the family? Growing up in a household with both parents suffering from PTSD; these are some of the questions I asked myself on weekly bases. Now that I’m married to a military man I find myself asking some of the same questions after each deployment. I wonder if he is going to come back the man I married or come back an unrecognizable void. I have done extensive research on the disorder to try to answer some of the questions that plagued me growing up, and by sharing with you what I have found, the information may give someone else a little more insight of what the disorder really is. What is post-traumatic stress disorder? “Post-traumatic stress disorder is a DSM-IV psychiatric disorder characterized by an acute emotional response to a traumatic event or situation involving severe environmental stress….” ( Mosby’s,2002) PTSD stems from events that you yourself experience, like abuse, combat, or a serious accident, but can also stem from a witnessed threat of harm or death to another, like 9-11-01. After such events happen you may feel scared, angry, or confused, which is perfectly normal but if those feelings don’t subside and start to get worse, there’s a good chance that you have developed PTSD, and need seek psychiatric help. What are the symptoms of PTSD? There a many symptoms to PTSD so they were are put into categories. Some say there are three categories in which PTSD can be grouped and others say there are four categories. They all agree on these three groups so I’m going to give you those. The First group is called re-experiencing; the symptoms within this group a... ... middle of paper ... ...s is determined; the doctor has to determine which form of therapy will work best for the treatment of the patient; exposure therapy, anxiety management, cognitive therapy, medication, or any combination of the four. PTSD is very serious disorder and should not be ignored, it not only hurts the person infected with it, but it hurts everyone around them as well, including the smallest of people in their lives. Works Cited 1) An Overview of PTSD Symptoms By Matthew Tull, PhD, About.com Guide Updated July 08, 2009 http://ptsd.about.com/od/symptomsanddiagnosis/a/PTSDsymptoms.htm 2) Drs. Foa and Riggs are providing their 2001 training manual, Brief Recovery Program (BRP) for Trauma Survivors, to support your work with trauma victims. http://ptsd.factsforhealth.org/treatment/exposure.asp Mosby's Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Dictionary, 2002

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