What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

anthony · #1 06-09-2005, 10:22 PM

I have provided three different explanations from relevant Australian credible sources.

The Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder define PTSD as:

Quote:

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious psychological reaction that develops in some people following experience of overwhelmingly frightening or traumatic events. It can result from many types of trauma, especially those which threaten life and those of human design. Such events include, but are not limited to, combat, assault, sexual assault, natural disaster, accidents and torture.

In one form or another, it has been known since ancient times and descriptions of PTSD-like reactions can be found in early Greek and Roman writings. More recently, it has been called by other names, such as shell shock, battle fatigue, accident neurosis and rape trauma syndrome. PTSD can affect people of any age, culture or gender.

Most people who experience trauma will have some kind of psychological reaction - this is part of a normal human reaction to overwhelming experiences. Feelings of fear, sadness, guilt, and anger are common. However, most survivors recover in time and only a small proportion will go on to develop the serious, long-term problems that are characteristic of PTSD.

Anxiety Australia put a slightly different spin on it, though really means the same thing, though maybe you can identify some of the symptoms to yourself?

Quote:

According to the American Psychiatric Association (1994), post traumatic stress disorder develops after someone is exposed to an extremely traumatic event and they reacted to the event with intense fear, horror or helplessness. Such traumatic events include:

war
torture
rape
child sexual or physical assault
physical assault
being kidnapped
terrorism
a natural disaster (e.g. a bushfire, flood or cyclone)
a major car accident
being diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness e.g. cancer
finding the body of someone who has committed suicide or been murdered

Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) write PTSD as:

Quote:

PTSD is a psychological response to the experience of intense traumatic events, particularly those that threaten life. It can affect people of any age, culture or gender. Although we have started to hear a lot more about it in recent years, the condition has been known to exist at least since the times of ancient Greece and has been called by many different names. It is referred to often in literature and the work of Shakespeare provides several good examples - some of these appear in this book. In the American Civil War it was referred to as "soldier's heart", in World War I it was called "shell shock", while by World War II it was known as "war neurosis". Many soldiers were labelled as having "combat fatigue" when experiencing symptoms associated with PTSD during combat. In the Vietnam War, this became known as a "combat stress reaction". Some of these people continued on to develop what became known, in 1980, as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Traumatic stress can be seen as part of a normal human response to intense experiences. In the majority of people, the symptoms reduce or disappear over the first few months, particularly with the help of caring family members and friends. In a significant minority, however, the symptoms do not seem to resolve quickly and, in some cases, may continue to cause problems for the rest of the person's life. It is also common for symptoms to vary in intensity over time. Some people go for long periods without any significant problems, only to relapse when they have to deal with other major life stress. In rare cases, the symptoms may not appear for months, or even years, after the trauma.

The next direct path from this topic, is the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

anthony · #2 01-10-2006, 12:00 AM

I thought this was a good way to put this, so here it is.

PTSD is an entirely normal reaction to an abnormal amount of stress. Having PTSD does not mean you're mentally ill, nor does it mean that you are weak or somehow deficient. Instead, think of it this way; no matter how strong your leg bones, if enough force is applied, they will break. Given the proper care, they will heal; and so can you.

In some cases a leg may be so damaged that it may never return to its original state. Your losses may be similarly enormous, however; with support you can find ways of coping with your permanent loss and discover new talents to develop and new reasons for living.