Dunkley 1 Cody Dunkley Ms.

Sawyer English 10 13 March 2013 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder in which a person cannot cope with an extremely traumatic event. It manifests itself in different forms for many people, and can be difficult to fully cure. Firstly, we shall address the causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Hereby referred to as PTSD from now onward.) To begin to understand this, we must define Trauma. In short, it can be defined as A response to a terrible event, like an accident, rape, or other natural disaster. (American Psychological Association). As such, this can define any shocking event to an individual. In most cases, it deals with the death of someone or a horrifying event, such as the case in war. Understand that initial trauma is normal, during the first stages of shock that follow such an event. However, when a person cannot move past the event, and seems to be fixated on it, that is generally when PTSD sets in. Now since every person is different, it can happen within days, or it may take years to onset fully. Now that we have a basic grasp on what causes this disorder, we shall address its symptoms and effects on a person. One of the most obvious is sleep deprivation. A person suffering from PTSD will usually have vivid, recurring nightmares or recollections of the event. They may also be easily startled, or frightened. Also, feelings of anger, fear, and helplessness are quite common side effects. These can all vary, and honestly depend on the person, and the event he or she experienced.

Dunkley 2 Their inability to cope with this can affect them on other levels too, such as personal relationships. In the grand majority of cases, family and friends who either dont understand, are ignorant, or are simply dismissive of the persons plight, might write them off as having a bad day. Quite often, arguments can break out over this. In turn causing strained relationships, sometimes even to the breaking point. Needless to say, this doesnt help things. Good, helpful, and open communication and understanding are paramount to the eventual treatment of the individual. The last major effect that PTSD has on an individual is their behavior. Depending on the case, thought patterns and reactions to said patterns can become intense and erratic. For example, take a soldier involved in war that witnessed the death of several friends. In this particular case, they may suddenly flashback, and think they are in a war zone, even in their own home, surrounded by family and friends. The individual may treat his acquaintances as enemies or potential hostiles. This can go onward to affect characteristics of the person as well. A talkative person may suddenly become quiet, with nothing to say. A calm, mellow person may have unbridled fits of anger, or be constantly angry at the world. Usually, the intensity of the event has a direct correlation to how dramatic the person acts. Regardless, this is a saddening, but natural side effect. The inability to get past the event causes most to focus solely on the stated event, not giving regard to anything else. As stated above, this includes emotions, and common traits of the individual. Too often, people are inclined to take a narrow, one-sided approach to this, and be resistant to budge. Again, as stated before, in all matters, care and understanding must be taken to calm the individual, and to try and understand what they are going through. Now that the causes and symptoms have been addressed, we can move to treatment. PTSD is a relatively new disorder, and is being researched thoroughly. One of the most

Dunkley 3 important and crucial treatments is Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. While it is not a specific type of therapy, it is a group of various therapies that are meant to gradually expose oneself to the event, learn to cope with it, and introduce the person back into normal everyday living as best they can. Other types of therapy that can help are Family and Support Groups. Family Therapy, needless to say, has the individual and immediate family sit down, so that they can all understand what happened, and learn to deal with it as well. Support Groups help in the form that people who have gone through PTSD and have emerged from it all the stronger can also inspire another to do the same, as well as giving tips and advice that may help them. This is not all, however. In the immediate times, doctors may prescribe an antidepressant, such as Prozac. This doesnt treat the underlying problem, and is usually used as a short-term treatment effect. To go on, one of the final types of treatment is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. This incorporates Behavioral-Cognitive Therapy with forms of forms of eye movement or other rhythmic stimulation. It is believed that this unfreezes the brains ability to process information, which was interrupted, or froze during the event, or times of severe stress. In conclusion, PTSD is a new disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder in which a person cannot cope with an extremely traumatic event. It manifests itself in different forms for many people, and can be difficult to fully cure. It was commonly referred to as Battle Fatigue, or Shell Shock. The various effects of it can sometimes be dismissed as simple things, when they are honestly much deeper. As such, these people should be treated with the utmost care, as they are going through something we could most likely never understand.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis