Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

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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.

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