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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD for short) is the name given to the psychological and physical problems that can sometimes follow particular threatening or distressing events.The trauma can be a single event or a series of events taking place over many months or even years. These events might include:
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a major disaster
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war
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rape or sexual, physical or emotional abuse
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witnessing a violent death
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a serious accident
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traumatic childbirth
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other situations in which a person was very afraid, horrified, helpless, or felt that his or her life was in danger
PTSD may affect the person directly involved in a traumatic event or situation. It may also develop in members of the emergency services or in families of those involved in a traumatic event. PTSD is quite common; up to a third of people who have experienced a traumatic event may go on to develop PTSD and it may affect about 8% of people at some point in their lives. It can develop in people of any age, including children.
One of the most common symptoms of PTSD is having repeated and intrusive distressing memories of the event. There may also be a feeling of reliving (or ‘re- experiencing’) the event through ‘flashbacks’ or nightmares, which can be very distressing and disorientating. There can also be physical reactions such as shaking and sweating.
Because the memory can be very intense and upsetting, some PTSD sufferers may avoid people or situations that remind them of the trauma, or try to ignore the memories and avoid talking about the event. Some people may also forget significant parts of the traumatic event. Other people will think about it constantly, which stops them coming to terms with it (they may, for instance, ask themselves why the event happened to them or how it could have been prevented).
PTSD sufferers may have emotions or feelings that are difficult to deal with, such as guilt or shame, or they may feel that they do not deserve help. They may also feel anxious or irritable, and find it difficult to concentrate and sleep. For some people, it can mean that doing ordinary things like going to work or school or going out with friends becomes very difficult.
It is not uncommon to have upsetting and confusing feelings and to experience very distressing symptoms in the first few weeks after a traumatic event. Sometimes these feelings pass after a few weeks or so, but if they persist for more than a month after the event, a person may have PTSD. Some people, however, may not have an immediate reaction to a distressing event and may develop PTSD months or even years after the event.
The NICE (National Institute for Care Excellence) recommendations for the treatment of PTSD are:
Specialist Trauma Focussed Psychological Therapy which could be either:
EMDR (link to www.getselfhelp.co.uk) or trauma Focussed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (TFCBT)
In some cases, medication may also be recommended in conjunction with this.