Titus 2 Men And Women

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

A part of me hesitates to put this ‘title’ on the web site because I know some will consider it psychological verbage.  I know how detrimental a lack of information about any situation in our lives can be...especially when it affects our health, whether mental or physical.  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a recognized group of symptoms from known causes.  Let me give you a situation in our own family:

Ten years ago our son started having pain in his lower jaw where he had some dental work done.  He kept tasting a metal taste and he kept going back to the dentist with that fact plus the jaw pain and twinges he was having.  This went on for about a year -- the filling in the tooth changed twice-- before he had a major seizure.  We learned from neurologists that the symptoms he was going to the dentist for were symptoms of a brain tumor. Our son was not able to get the proper early treatment for his condition because the dentist did not recognize the symptoms as possibly stemming from a source other than the tooth.

It is my desire that this information may make many aware of what is happening to them, or others in their lives, because of trauma.  If I had been given this article my healing from my yesterdays of abuse could have been a much less stressful time.  I would have had understanding which would have given me peace in the process: Like knowing exactly what is physically wrong with us as we wait to get well.

It is common for people to feel that no matter what they’ve faced or lived with, no matter how extreme, they should be able to carry on. But sometimes people face situations that are so traumatic that they may become unable to cope and function in their daily lives: situations/traumas that are beyond the levels of human experience, such a witnessing a brutal crime, combat in war, or being the victim of a sexual assault or abusive relationship. Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by a traumatic event and will typically appear within 3 months of the traumatic event. However, in some instances, it may not occur until years after the event, which is often the case with victims of childhood abuse.

Some people become so distressed by memories of the trauma -- memories that won’t go away -- that they begin to live their lives trying to avoid any reminders of what happened to them. A person who feels this way months after a traumatic experience has passed may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a serious and common health condition.

"PTSD is more likely after a rape or other manmade trauma than after an earthquake, hurricane, flood, or other naturally occurring disaster. Psychologically, it seems to matter whether the trauma is intentionally aimed at the victim or is random and suffered by many people together.

People are less likely to have PTSD if they think about the trauma, talk to other people about it, and let go of their anger over the incident."  She encourages

people to face the trauma: "Talk to someone you trust, write about it, do anything but push it away." Foa's patients have told her, "I'm not the person I used to be. I don't trust people. I can't feel loving anymore." Edna Foa, Ph.D., director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

The Broken Spirits Network

http://www.brokenspirits.com

Frequent Memories Of The Stressful Event: Whatever the source of the problem, some people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in the form of nightmares and disturbing recollections during the day. Seeing things that are a reminder of the incident may be very distressing, which could lead to avoidance of certain places or situations that bring back those memories. Anniversaries of the event are often very difficult. Ordinary events can serve as reminders of the trauma and trigger flashbacks or intrusive images. A flashback may make the person lose touch with reality and reenact the event for a period of seconds or hours or, very rarely, days. A person having a flashback, which can come in the form of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, usually believes that the traumatic event is happening all over again.

Extreme Depression: depression, to the point of considering suicide, is one of the most common symptoms of PTSD, and also one of the most serious. Depression, at any level, is something that should be taken seriously. A medical professional should be seen as soon as possible if the depression begins to increase in intensity, or remains for long periods at a time.

Sleep Disturbances: Examples of sleeping disorders include: sleeping constantly or insomnia and frequent nightmares.

Extreme Sensitivity To Noises (Causing The Startle Reflex): After a traumatic event, the body maintains a enhanced fight-or-flight reflex, causing the body to respond to loud or sudden noises.

A Generalized Fear Of Others/Paranoia: A person suffering from PTSD will be very likely to shrink and cower when faced with new people, and quite often with people already known. Fear of a re-occurrence of the traumatic event is possibly the reasoning for this behavior.

Other Symptoms Include: emotional numbness, severe mood swings, marital or dating problems, inability to perform sexually, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, headaches, gastrointestinal complaints, immune system problems, dizziness, chest pain, or discomfort in other parts of the body. Often, doctors treat the symptoms without being aware that they are caused from PTSD. When PTSD is diagnosed, referral to a mental health professional who has had experience treating people with the disorder is recommended

(I have often wondered if there is a hormonal reason.)

Research Findings - from National Institute of Mental Health

Research is continuing to reveal factors that may lead to PTSD. People who have been abused as children or who have had other previous traumatic experiences are more likely to develop the disorder. In addition, it used to be believed that people who tend to be emotionally numb after a trauma were showing a healthy response; but now some researchers suspect that people who experience this emotional distancing may be more prone to PTSD...People with PTSD tend to have abnormal levels of key hormones involved in response to stress. When people are in danger, they produce high levels of natural opiates, which can temporarily mask pain. Scientists have found that people with PTSD continue to produce those higher levels even after the danger has passed; this may lead to the blunted emotions associated with the condition.....and (the hormone interaction) is thought to be one reason why people generally can remember emotionally arousing events better than other situations....leading to the formation of abnormally strong memories that are then experienced as flashbacks or intrusions."

The following I have learned and gathered from a lot of reading on this subject.  I will give it in synopsis form to make it easier to understand.

Post-traumatic stress disorder may include:

• Flashbacks and distressing dreams associated with the traumatic event.
• Extreme trauma is a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is life threatening or causes physical harm.  It can be a single event or a repeated experience.  The experience causes the victim to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness. The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including physical, mental or emotional well being.
• Distress at anniversaries of the trauma.
• Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings and activities associated with the trauma.
• Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, inability to have loving feelings.
• Markedly diminished interest or participation in activities that once were an important source of satisfaction.
• Persistent, intense fear and anxiety
• Feeling easily irritated or agitated
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Feeling numb or detached -- no longer finding pleasure in previously enjoyable activities.
• Feeling helpless or "out of control"
• Experiencing intense survivor guilt
• Being preoccupied with the traumatic event
• Physical symptoms such as headache, gastrointestinal distress, or dizziness
• Suicidal thoughts, plans, or gestures
• In young children, delayed or developmental retrogression in such areas as toilet training, motor skills and language.

From the National Center for PTSD:

"What does PTSD look like in children?

Researchers and clinicians are beginning to recognize that PTSD may not present itself in children the same way it does in adults.

Very young children may present with few PTSD symptoms. This may be because eight of the PTSD symptoms require a verbal description of one's feelings and experiences. Instead, young children may report more generalized fears such as stranger or separation anxiety, avoidance of situations that may or may not be related to the trauma, sleep disturbances, and a preoccupation with words or symbols that may or may not be related to the trauma

Clinical reports suggest that elementary school-aged children may not experience visual flashbacks or amnesia for aspects of the trauma.... School-aged children also reportedly exhibit posttraumatic play or reenactment of the trauma in play, drawings, or verbalizations.

PTSD in adolescents may begin to more closely resemble PTSD in adults.... Adolescents are more likely to engage in traumatic reenactment, in which they incorporate aspects of the trauma into their daily lives. In addition, adolescents are more likely than younger children or adults to exhibit impulsive and aggressive behaviors."

Who's at risk for developing PTSD?

Those at risk include: Anyone who has been victimized or has witnessed a violent act or who has been repeatedly exposed to a life-threatening situation.

"It is important to remember that what causes PTSD in one person may have no apparent effect on another. The effect seems to be proportionate to the mental innocence of the victim. A young child can not even begin to understand ‘what is happening’ to them when they are raped. They only feel the pain and are afraid the pain will happen again. As they mature they often develop PTSD symptoms but don’t even think about associating the symptoms back to the painful experience. By the same token an adult woman who is raped is less likely to have severe PTSD because she understands what is happening and recognizes that the attacker is to blame. The point is what you or I might be able to handle emotionally and psychologically, may be beyond the ability of someone else’s comprehension." --Teddi Neevel

Survivors of:

• Children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused or adults who were abused as children.
• Domestic or intimate partner violence, rape or sexual assault.
• Physical assault such as mugging or carjacking and other random acts that take place in public, in schools or the workplace.
• Those surviving unexpected events in everyday life: car accidents, fires, natural disasters such as tornadoes or earthquakes, major catastrophic events such as a plane crash or terrorist act.
• Disasters caused by human error such as industrial  and medical accidents.
• Combat veterans or civilian victims of war
• Those diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or who have undergone invasive medical procedures
• Professionals who respond to victims in trauma situations such as emergency medical service workers, police, firefighters, military, and search and rescue workers.
• People who learn of the sudden, unexpected death of a close friend or relative

With PTSD there can be self-destructive behavior and physical complaints such as:

Alcohol, drug abuse, suicidal impulses, any high risk behavior (show-off, dare devil) that may be life threatening. Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression include: chronic pain with no medical cause (frequently gynecological problems in women), stress related conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, stomach pain or other digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation, eating disorders, breathing problems or asthma, headaches, muscle cramps or low back pain, sleep disorders, cardiovascular problems.

Many people experience an elevated level of health after past traumas are dealt with, as I did.  Checking this with several Christian physicians confirmed this happens and why:  When inner stress is gone the immune system can function better.

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