What is Post-traumatic stress disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can happen after a stressful and traumatic incident. It is also known as post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When this happens, the person continues to feel the same sense of fear and terror that they felt during the traumatic events.
In a nutshell, PTSD is not a mental illness but rather an illness caused by more than one traumatic “experience.” In particular, “traumatic experience” does not have to be experienced in one encounter but can be triggered by any “situation” or “reality-shift” in one’s life. This realisation enables people with PTSD to perceive events from a slightly different perspective. Thus, they may be experiencing these stressful events in a somewhat different way than a control group.
This article is aimed at both people who suffer from PTSD and people who know someone who does, also called “ handlers”. Let’s delve into the science behind this condition, the symptoms, and what’s being done to help those suffering from it.
People experiencing PTSD are highly sensitive to changes in their environment. They also experience hypervigilance and nocturnal awakenings.
At first glance, it might not seem like these symptoms are a big deal, especially if you’ve been through a stressful event yourself. However, the shift in perspective that people with PTSD have after experiencing a traumatic event might quickly stop you from ever feeling at home again.
Because people with PTSD experience the world differently. It renders them more easily startled or overcome with emotion by events happening in places that they usually indulge in for fun and relaxation.
A 2019 study found that those with PTSD report “significantly greater symptoms of emotional dysregulation” after exposure to triggers in nature.
It turns out that triggers, the most common being loud noises, bright lights, and smells, can trigger your emotions just like a real-life horror movie would. Thus, it becomes our job to avoid such locations whenever possible.
People with PTSD are also more prone to experiencing REM sleep.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
The symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks, anxiety, depression, and more
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that can develop after a traumatic event in which the person who experienced the trauma feels intense fear, horror, or helplessness. Indications of PTSD contain flashbacks, anxiety, difficulty falling asleep, depression and physical signs like shortness of breath, quick heartbeat, and muscle pain.
According to the Psychology Today article, PTSD can be diagnosed after the following are experienced: After experiencing these symptoms, a person is at a higher risk of developing PTSD. This might include:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a common condition that manifests itself after brutal violent combat, sexual assault, natural disasters, and other traumatic events. PTSD causes the body to attack the mind by sending messages to the brain’s defence mechanisms. Two thoughts, feelings, memories, or behaviours may disrupt the way a person thinks after a traumatic event.
Because PTSD isn’t caused by something the person has done, it is sometimes misdiagnosed as multiple personality disorder. It’s essential to speak to a mental health professional if you think you might have PTSD.
Let’s get started on how you can identify if you have PTSD. Maybe you have experienced a traumatic event yourself. It was so sudden and traumatic that you suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the brain releases chemicals called neuropeptides. These neuropeptides influence your brain function by activating nerve cells.
A person with PTSD experiences these neuropeptides more than normal, and the increased neuropeptides can cause the same effects experienced after those stressful events. After experiencing these symptoms, a person is at a higher risk for developing PTSD.
Your immune system controls the bodies’ ability to fight infections. After experiencing significant changes to the nervous system due to a traumatic event, your body may now have difficulty handling infections.
This is because the same anxiety, agitation, or changes in mood that are caused after a traumatic event can make you more susceptible to get an infection.