Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Contains general information about post traumatic stress disorder, including background, frequency, common forms and the definition of a traumatic event.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Articles : Post Traumatic Stress Disorder



Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Articles




What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Background

Human reactions to extreme trauma were not well studied before the early twentieth century. World War I provided a more than adequate opportunity, with many soldiers exhibiting all the signs of a serious mental disorder. Men would commonly have frequent, vivid recollections of horrible battles. Terrible nightmares, too, troubled many. Some even attacked their friends, suddenly convinced that they were enemy soldiers. World War II caused many soldiers and civilians to exhibit even stronger symptoms.

The phenomenon came to be known as ‘war neuroses’ or ‘shell-shock’. In truth, though, post traumatic stress disorder can occur following any traumatic event. Victims of disasters, assaults, rapes and other similarly harrowing events are all susceptible.

Post traumatic stress disorder was given its name in 1980, following intense examination of Vietnam veterans. These soldiers had endured awful conditions. Many had watched their friends die and lived in constant fear for their own lives. A large number suffered from post traumatic stress disorder as a result.

Frequency

In any highly traumatic situation, a certain proportion of the people involved are likely to suffer a mental disturbance. It is thought that about twenty-five percent of all trauma victims will suffer from some form of post traumatic stress disorder. Sadly, the rate may be as high as eighty percent for rape victims.

Common Forms

Disturbing recollections of the traumatic event are the most common effect. These will come unbidden, and at inappropriate times. Sufferers may find it hard to concentrate on their daily life, as the recollections are often frequent and vivid.

Second, recurring nightmares about the event may trouble a sufferer for years afterwards. A traumatic event is relived in its entirety, or the dream may feature many isolated aspects of the trauma. Child sufferers often have nightmares without content, but with a similar sense of terror, loss or dread.

Sufferers of post traumatic stress disorder may develop an adverse reaction to certain ‘triggers’. A plot of land may remind a war veteran of a battle, or a face may bring to mind a rapist. These triggers can cause a vivid recollection to take over the sufferer’s thoughts. The individual may be unable to stop a sense of rising panic, or anger.

Finally, some sufferers experience dissociative reactions. Victims behave as if still involved in the traumatic event. Disturbed Vietnam veterans, for example, have been known to attack their own families, thinking that they were the Vietcong.

What Constitutes a Traumatic Event?

A traumatic event is defined as one that is outside normal human experience, and that would be distressing to almost anyone. War is a good example, and indeed, the wars of last century gave us many disorder victims. Disasters, such as building collapses, also fall outside normal human experience. Violent personal affronts, such as assault or rape, are obviously distressing to almost anyone.