Written by Samantha S.
June is PTSD awareness month. Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] is when people who have experienced trauma continue to feel and be affected by the traumatic event, whether that it happened recently or a much longer time back.
Examples of events that cause PTSD include witnessing or experiencing physical violence, tragic events, sexual violence, or a life-threatening situation in addition to other dangers. PTSD may cause someone to detach from people around them and have intense feelings of anger and sadness. In addition, someone with PTSD may experience flashbacks and replays of the traumatic event they experienced as if that event is happening again. For example, a war veteran may experience sensations of being back in a dangerous warzone where they have seen people get injured or killed.
Some people suffer from PTSD from indirect exposure to traumatic events. For example, it can be extremely traumatizing for someone to hear details about a loved one’s death at the hands of a cruel person.
There are four categories of PTSD symptoms. They are intrusion, avoidance, alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and activity. With intrusion, people repeatedly experience disturbing thoughts and feelings related to a traumatic event. Intrusion involves flashbacks and perceiving experiencing the traumatic event again. Avoidance involves someone trying to stay away from people, things, and places that trigger memories related to the traumatic event. Avoidance also includes not wanting to talk about the trauma and the things associated with it. Alterations in cognition and mood refer to when someone with PTSD has trouble remembering significant details of the traumatic event. In addition, this category also includes the person struggling with detachment and negative thoughts and feelings as a result of the traumatic event. The fourth category considers someone’s behaviors and reactions to things as a result of the trauma.
If you are struggling with PTSD, know that you are not alone. Below is a resource page to help you or a loved one:
Source: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd