Post Traumatic Stress Disorder FAQ's
What is PTSD ?
UNDERSTANDING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
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Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, yet most people recover from the initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened, even when they are not in danger. In our everyday lives, any of us can have an experience that is overwhelming, frightening, and beyond our control. We could find ourselves in a car crash, be the victim of an assault, or see an accident. For some people, traumatic experiences set off a reaction that can last for many months or years.
How does PTSD start?
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PTSD can start after any traumatic event. A traumatic event is one where we can see that we are in danger, our life is threatened, or we witness other people being injured or dying. Some typical traumatic events are:
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Serious accidents
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Military combat
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Violent assault (sexual assault, physical attack, abuse, robbery, mugging)
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Being taken hostage
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Terrorist attack
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Being a prisoner-of-war
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Natural or man-made disasters
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Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness
Even hearing about an unexpected injury or violent death of a family member or close friend can start PTSD.
When does PTSD start?
The symptoms of PTSD can start immediately or after a delay of weeks or months. Symptoms usually appear within 6 months of the traumatic event.
What does PTSD feel like?
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Many people feel grief-stricken, depressed, anxious, guilty, and angry after a traumatic experience. As well as these understandable emotional reactions, there are three main types of symptoms:
1. Flashbacks & Nightmares
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You find yourself re-living the event, again and again. This can happen both as a 'flashback' during the day and as a nightmare when you are asleep. These can be so realistic that it feels as though you are living through the experience all over again. You see it in your mind but may also feel the emotions and physical sensations of what happened - fear, sweating, smells, sounds, pain. Ordinary things can trigger a flashback. For instance, if you had a car crash in the rain, a rainy day might start a flashback.
2. Avoidance & Numbing
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It can be just too upsetting to re-live your experience over and over again. So, you distract yourself. You keep your mind busy by losing yourself in a hobby, working very hard, or spending your time absorbed in other activities. You avoid places and people that remind you of the trauma and avoid talking about it. You may deal with the pain of your feelings by trying to feel nothing at all – by becoming emotionally numb. You communicate less with other people and your relationships may begin to suffer.
3. Being 'On Guard'
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You find that you stay alert all the time, as if you are looking out for danger. You cannot relax. This is called 'hyper-vigilance'. You feel anxious and find it hard to sleep. Other people will notice that you are jumpy and irritable.
Associated symptoms:
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1. Depression
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Depression involves feeling down or sad more days than not. If you are depressed, you may lose interest in activities that used to be enjoyable or fun. You may feel low in energy and be overly tired. You may feel hopeless or in despair, and you may think that things will never get better. Depression is can occur when you have had losses such as the death of a loved one or close friend. If you are depressed, at times you might think about hurting or killing yourself. For this reason, getting help for depression is very important.
2. Self-blame, Guilt and Shame
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Sometimes in trying to make sense of a traumatic event, you may blame yourself in some way. You may think you are responsible for the bad things that happened, or for surviving when others did not. You may feel guilty for what you did or did not do. Remember, we all tend to be our own worst critics. Most of the time, that guilt, shame or self-blame is not justified.
3. Social Isolation
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If you have suffered a trauma, you may find it difficult to relate to and connect with other people. This can make social situations feel uncomfortable and cause to you pull back and stop interacting with others. When you pull away from others, you are also pulling away from the people who care about and support you.
4. Suicidal Thoughts
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Trauma and personal loss can lead a person to think about hurting or killing themselves. Below are some resources that are available if you begin to feel overwhelmed and have thoughts of suicide.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org*. You can also call a counsellor, doctor, or 911.
5. Anger or Aggressive Behaviour
Trauma can be connected with anger in many ways. After a trauma, you might think that what happened to you was unfair or unjust. You might not understand why the event happened and why it happened to you. These thoughts can result in intense anger. Although anger is a natural and healthy emotion, intense feelings of anger and aggressive behaviour can cause problems with family, friends, or co-workers. If you become violent when angry, you make the situation worse. Violence can lead to people being injured, and there may be legal consequences.
6. Alcohol / Drug Abuse
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Drinking or "self-medicating" with drugs is a common and unhealthy way of coping with upsetting events. You may drink too much or use drugs to numb yourself and to try to deal with difficult thoughts, feelings, and memories related to the trauma. While using alcohol or drugs may offer a quick solution, it can actually lead to more problems.
Summing it all up
Right after a trauma, almost every survivor will find themselves unable to stop thinking about what happened. Stress reactions such as increased fear, nervousness, jumpiness, upsetting memories, and efforts to avoid reminders, will gradually decrease over time for most people.