Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can occur following a traumatic experience, such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults. The symptoms of PTSD can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person's daily life.
PTSD is complicated by the fact that it frequently occurs in conjunction with related conditions such as depression, substance abuse and problems of memory and cognition. The disorder can also be associated with of the person's ability to function in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and struggles in parenting.
Symptoms include, but are not limited to:
Re-experiencing the traumatic event
- Intrusive memories of the event
- Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again)
- Nightmares
- Feelings of distress when reminded of the trauma
- Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating)
Avoidance and numbing
- Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that are reminders of the trauma
- Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma
- Loss of interest in activities and life in general
- Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb
- Sense of a limited future (not expecting to live a normal life span, get married, have a career)
Increased anxiety and emotional arousal
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Irritability or outbursts of anger
- Difficulty concentrating
- Hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”)
- Feeling jumpy and easily startled
Supporting someone with PTSD
This can be difficult, especially for somebody with no experience of it. To take care of someone with PTSD you first need to take care of yourself, ensuring a stable support network of family, friends and sometimes healthcare professionals.
Getting better takes time, even when a person is committed to treatment for PTSD. Be patient with the pace of recovery and offer a sympathetic ear. A person with PTSD may need to talk about the traumatic event over and over again. This is part of the healing process, so avoid the temptation to tell them to stop rehashing the past and move on.
Try to anticipate and prepare for PTSD triggers. Common triggers include anniversary dates; people or places associated with the trauma and certain sights, sounds, or smells. If you are aware of what triggers may cause an upsetting reaction, you’ll be in a better position to offer your support and help calm them down.
Don’t take the symptoms of PTSD personally. Common symptoms of PTSD include emotional numbness, anger, and withdrawal. If they seems distant, irritable, or closed off, remember that this is due to their traumatic experience, it is not about you.
Don’t pressure them into talking. It is very difficult for people with PTSD to talk about their traumatic experiences. For some, it can even make things worse. Never try to force them to open up. Let the person know, however, that you’re there when and if he or she wants to talk.
PTSD is treated by a variety of forms of psychotherapy and prescribed drugs. There is no definitive cure; however some treatments appear stand out in their effectiveness, especially Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) a talking therapy.
