Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: What You Need to Know

By Rosie Nadal
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric disorder affecting those who have experienced very traumatic events. People with PTSD suffer high levels of anxiety and bouts of depression. Normal day to day life for people with PTSD also gets disrupted by panic episodes or "flashbacks," where they remember and relive the emotions and thoughts they had during the original trauma.

Signs of PTSD

The most common signs of PTSD, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, include:

* Chronic anxiety, where victims experience periods of depression and acute panic attacks;
* Flashbacks, where victims recall snippets of the traumatic event;
* Sleep disturbances, where victims experience disruptive nightmares and difficulty sleeping;
* Avoidance, where victims avoid certain people, places, and situations that they associate with the traumatic event;
* Dissociation/Derealization, where victims feel disconnected from other people and from the latest happenings around them, and where they also feel that past or present events didn't actually happen; and
* Hyper-vigilance, where victims feel the need to be constantly on their guard

A few people also suffer from amnesia or memory loss after the trauma.

The more persistent and the more serious the PTSD signs and symptoms means the longer one has been exposed to trauma.

The National Center for PTSD relates that an estimated 8% of the population will experience Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder at some point in their lives. However, it says, females are twice more likely to seek professional intervention for PTSD than boys afflicted with the disorder.

History of PTSD and Risk Factors

The American Psychiatric Association says that PTSD was first considered as a legitimate psychiatric problem and listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1980. However, the APA notes, doctors and people in the military have long been aware of the condition.

The National Institute of Mental Health says that 19% of soldiers who have fought in a war come home with PTSD. The statistic gets higher with repeated tours of duty, like the ones served by American military men in Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to the NIMH, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is also seen in people who have survived accidents or major catastrophic events, like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. PTSD is also common among people who have been victims of or have witnessed murder, criminal or domestic violence, and sexual abuse.

Treatment and Prognosis

A form of PTSD known as Complex PTSD is unique to people who have experienced prolonged and severe trauma. C-PTSD often comes with other psychological problems, making treatment more difficult.

If PTSD is identified and treated immediately after the traumatic event, then it usually gets resolved within 3 months. However, signs of PTSD usually do not appear until up to 6 months post-trauma. In some instances, as in the case of long-lasting trauma and C-PTSD, the first signs do not manifest until some years after.

In such delayed cases, recovery relies on the individual, as well as on the length of the trauma and the severity of the symptoms. C-PTSD may become a chronic problem and will necessitate long-term care, but most cases resolve in due course with the right kind of intervention.

Prognosis for total recovery from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after treatment is excellent.