Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been in
the news a lot lately. The medical and psychological communities,
along with society in general, are coming to a greater understanding
to a condition that is common among the many veterans who are coming
home after fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not
just veterans who suffer-It can happen to anyone who has a traumatic
experience. But what exactly *is* PTSD? How common is it? I'm
going to give you a very “tip of the iceberg” summary of what
I've learned about it, with a link to more information.
I know it seems odd for me to be giving so many
examples from popular entertainment. After all, scriptwriters are
entertainers, not doctors. I'm doing this because a lot of
very complex matters such as PTSD can be more easily understood if
someone has a "visual" to work from.
When I say, "yes, it's real" in the
title, I'm not trying to be rude. It's just that a lot of people who
don't suffer from this disorder tell the person who does that they
should just "let it go"; that, by "holding onto"
whatever it is that happened, they are causing their own pain. This
might be true when it comes to things like a breakup or loss of a
job, but the events that cause PTSD are much more painful than that.
Also, it's normal to be shaken up right after an event, but symptoms
of PTSD can take months or even years to manifest. It's not a given
that someone who has a trauma will have these problems, but it's
important to realize that a person who does have them needs
both professional and personal support.
One of the major symptoms with PTSD
is the presence of "flashbacks" that make the person feel
as though they are experiencing the event all over again. A perfect
example of this is an incident in an episode of Grey's Anatomy
where a half-asleep Iraq War veteran sees a ceiling fan and feels as
though he is back in the desert treating a friend who had just been
shot. Because of this, he nearly chokes his sleeping girlfriend to
death. He wasn't trying to hurt her; the flashback *literally* had
him thinking he was still in the desert, adrenaline and all.
All flashbacks aren't this vivid, but the sight of the ceiling
fan-which looked like a helicopter-triggered him. This isn't
uncommon; a rape victim might be triggered if she sees someone who
resembles her attacker and feel the same pain she did during the
assault. Triggers can be items, sounds, smells-all kinds of things.
This can also happen to someone who didn't experience a trauma
themselves, but were witness to one and/or had a sudden death in the
family.
People who suffer from PTSD may find themselves
avoiding situations that remind them of what they went through. For
instance, a friend of mine was nearly killed in an accident several
years ago. For months afterward, she got very anxious anytime she
drove or sat in the front set of a car, so she didn't do it. It took
her months to be able to drive a car without freaking out every time
a white truck (the color of the one that hit her) came by. They may
also have terrifying dreams, be "hyper-vigilant" (i.e.
constantly tense), prone to angry outbursts or other anxiety
reactions that make it difficult to perform the tasks of daily life
or hold down a job. It's not uncommon for a person with PTSD to be
emotionally numb, which can cause problems in personal relationships.
For the effects of PTSD on children as well as treatment options, visit Part 2.
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