PTSD
From Drug Rehab Wiki
PTSD is the acronym for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that is brought on by exposure to extreme physical harm or danger. Near-death experiences, torture or extreme bodily harm, disaster, physical or sexual assault, or psychological damage and affliction can all lead to PTSD. People who directly lived through or were witnesses to such events can develop the disorder.
PTSD is most commonly associated with war combat, although similar diagnoses have emerged from industrial/occupational accidents and events of such traumatic psychological/physical intensity as that of survivors of Nazi concentration camps. Prior to its modern taxonomy, PTSD has also been classified as “railroad spine syndrome,” “exhausted heart,” “irritable heart syndrome,” “neurocirculatory asthenia,” “shell shock,” “war neuroses,” “physioneurosis,” “gross stress reaction,” or “battle fatigue.”
Symptoms include reliving the trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, disturbing thoughts, somatization (complaints of physical symptoms that have no identifiable physical origin), increased startle, increased arousal, exaggerated stress responses when reminded of the severe trauma, avoidance of the triggering stimulus or associations of it, despondency, depression, memory loss, insomnia, and anger outbursts. If these symptoms occur for only a few weeks, the condition is known as acute stress disorder (ASD), which is a similar disorder but isn’t as chronic as PTSD, since PTSD remains with the afflicted individual for long (even ongoing) periods of time due to constant emotional stress.
The disorder can affect a person at any age, although young children and teenagers express variations of these symptoms. The normal bodily instinct to “fight or flight” when experiencing fear is permanently damaged or injured, and affected persons can become afraid without a stimulus due to the perception that the threat is still present. Although the existence of PTSD has been reported since ancient times and has been significantly researched since the 18th century, the modern recognition of the disorder did not become concrete until the 1980 publication of the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) when its symptoms were officially distinguished from those of other anxiety disorders.
For those with PTSD, everyday activities can become difficult or impossible to perform, even activities that the individual once enjoyed. Sleeping, eating, and concentration are affected, and school, work, and relationships become seriously impaired. A psychiatrist or psychologist can diagnose the disorder, and treatment is usually customized to each individual situation and involves a combination of psychotherapy and prescribed medication. It may take several attempts before an effective treatment is found suitable to each individual’s needs, yet anyone experiencing PTSD should always seek medical treatment. If PTSD is left untreated, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, panic disorder, or forms of depression may evolve.
