What are the Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

You may know somebody affected by traumatic stress disorder. There are chances that you may yourself be affected by the same. You may be wondering the effects of post traumatic stress disorder. You may be asking what is post traumatic stress disorder. This article will put you on to the right track as to what this is and what are the possible treatments.

What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post traumatic stress disorder is also known as PTSD. This is a psychiatric disorder that normally occurs after a person faces a threat. This is common during military combat, natural disasters, serious accidents, or a violent assault. Most people will return to normal after a bad experience. Unfortunately, some people have reactions to stress that don't go away over any period of time. In fact, they may get worse. It is these people who tend to develop PTSD. These people often relive the trauma through nightmares or flashbacks. Similarly they may have a very hard time while sleeping. Sometimes they feel detached. If these symptoms are bad enough or last long enough, they can seriously impair that person's daily life.

What are the Causes for This?

There are several causes of post traumatic stress disorder. Someone could develop PTSD after a very traumatic event. These experiences can include rape, war, physical or sexual abuse, natural disasters, and fire. Roughly 30% of the individuals who experience some form of post traumatic stress disorder develop chronic PTSD that will continue throughout their lifetime.

Over a period of time a person with post traumatic stress disorder may experience an increase in these symptoms. After a certain period it may decrease. This cycle will be repeated again and again. However some people will have symptoms that don't stop. They may be quiet severe.

What are the Effects of PTSD?

The effects of PTSD are both physical and emotional. A person experiencing post traumatic stress disorder may have trouble in falling or staying asleep. They may feel agitated and may always think that they are going to face some danger. They might be scared even for loud noises. Some people with PTSD can feel shaky and sweaty. Their heart rate may be quite high and they may have trouble breathing.

A person going through PTSD may try to avoid certain issues. They may avoid places or people that remind them of the trauma. They may be upset emotionally and have trouble in expressing or feeling love. They probably even feel numb to life. They may feel disconnected from their loved ones, house and neighborhood. They may also lose interest in professional life.

What are the Remedies for it?

There are many ways in which PTSD can be treated. One way is psychotherapy and the other is drug therapy. A few of the promising treatments are cognitive-behavioral therapy, group therapy, and exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is administered to make the person with PTSD to relive their frightening experience under a controlled condition in order to help them work through it.

A patient may go through cognitive-behavioral therapy. This type of therapy involves learning skills that will help them cope with anxiety. It also helps them manage their anger and prepare themselves for stress reactions. They learn the skills that will equip them for handling future trauma symptoms. It addresses their urge to use alcohol or drugs to manage trauma symptoms. It teaches them how to communicate and relate to other people.

There are a few medications that may help to ease some of the symptoms of depression and anxiety. This can help them to sleep in a peaceful manner. Prozac and Zoloft are the most widely used stress relief drugs for treatment and post traumatic stress disorder. Today, behavior therapy seems to be a little more effective in treating post traumatic stress disorder than stress relief medication. It is too early to say that drug therapy is less effective because the drug trials for post traumatic stress disorder are still in the early stages. Drug therapy appears to be extremely effective for some people and has been helpful for many others. There have been lots of findings on the biological changes associated with post traumatic stress disorder in the recent days. As a result of this there is lots of research about the drugs which helps in making these changes. This could lead to an increased efficacy of these drugs.

Now that you know what it is, you no longer have to ask what is post traumatic stress disorder. The effects of post traumatic stress disorder are many. However this can be cured as lots of treatments are available. It is definitely possible to lead a normal life. If they are treated at the right time the problems can easily be cured. You only need to work on them.

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