Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Some believe that after Soldiers come home from war that everything is good. They believe that the person who left a year prior will be the same person that will return. Many families are finding out that this is far from the truth, they are starting to see that a lot of their family members are returning with emotional pain that will scar their families, friends, and most of all themselves.
So what is PTSD? PTSD is an anxiety disorder that some people get after seeing, or living through a dangerous event. When in danger, it is natural to feel afraid. This fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger, or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. However, in PTSD, this reaction is changed or damaged. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they’re no longer in danger. PTSD can cause many symptoms. These symptoms can be grouped into three categories; Re-experiencing symptoms which include, Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating, bad dreams and frightening thoughts. Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing. The second is Avoidance symptoms; this includes, staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience, feeling emotionally numb, feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry, losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past, and having trouble remembering the dangerous event. Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually...