Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Shackled By Memories!

What Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Photo: Martyna Adamczyk

Students and staff of a School in America re-live, time and again, the shootout that took place in their school a few months back: they stop all activities at the sound of an ambulance going down the road, children play only in small groups and keep one student on the look-out for any possible killer, many students still wake up from their sleeps feeling highly anxious and disturbed, and some students are trying to sleep with their eye open…

A war veteran of 1980’s, cannot bring himself to buy a toy gun for his son, even twenty years after he returned from the front. He still has nightmares, wherein he relives those horrible experiences in his dreams. He can feel each sight, smell and sound of the moments when he felt that he was going to die any minute. He feels anxious at the sight of anything that even remotely reminds him of his days at the frontier, however innocuous it is…

Both the cases described above illustrate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. It is as if some events have been etched in fire in the memory of the victim, and they surface their ugly heads at the slightest pretext; as if they don’t want the sufferer to forget the physical and the mental scars of his past.

PTSD is a term that is used to describe the psychological reactions to an event that involved grave injury, actual threat to life or to physical safety, and that was extremely traumatic to the person involved. A person can suffer from PTSD even if such events have not actually occurred to him, but he was a witness to such an incident. Also, PTSD is not always the result of a traumatic event in the recent past; one can suffer from PTSD if one was subjected to physical or mental abuse in his childhood.

Some people think that PTSD happens only to war veterans. It’s wrong: anyone can get PTSD. Nearly 7.7 million Americans are affected by PTSD. Women are more susceptible, and children can also get affected by PTSD. Any event that is uncontrollable and unpredictable, can lead to PTSD.

Who Can Suffer From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Anyone who has been through a life threatening situation, or has been witness to such an event.
War veterans or survivors of war like situations.
Victims of violence – physical, sexual or verbal.
Survivors of natural calamities, accidents, or terrorist attacks.
Children, who have lived through neglect or physical abuse, may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Those who attend to victims in emergency situations, like natural calamities, accidents, social unrest, etc.
Those who have experienced sudden and unexpected death of their dear ones.

Normally, people recover from emotional injuries over a period of time – some take a few days, while others may recover after a few months. But, one is said to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, if emotional life does not start healing even after a couple of months. The effects of a traumatic event may not be immediately detectable: symptoms of PTSD can appear after long gaps – a few years, one decade, or even two decades.

The symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress syndrome can last for extended periods. But, with proper treatment, PTSD can be cured, and one can start living a normal life again.

Further Reading

Harmful Effects of Traumatic Stress On Health And Life

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Cognitive Therapy For PTSD Treatment

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