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Free Example of The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that results from experience of witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events. The stress that results from traumatic events causes various psycho-emotional outcomes. Post-traumatic stress disorder can produce emotional responses caused by the trauma endured during combat operations. It may not to emerge immediately, but can actually happen weeks, months, or even years after the traumatic event. If you have gone through a traumatic experience, it is normal to feel distress, fear, helplessness, guilt, shame or anger. You may start to feel better after days or weeks, but sometimes, these feelings last longer.( Taylor, 2004) PTSD was usually referred to as “combat fatigue” or “shell shock” until 1980, when it was given its actual name. PTSD is produced from a traumatic event that provoked intense fear, helplessness, or horror. The events are sometimes re-experienced through intrusive memories, nightmares, hallucinations, or flashbacks. Symptoms of PTSD may include, irritability, anger, poor concentration, troubled sleep and exaggerated responses. Emotions felt by victims of PTSD include depression , detachment or estrangement, guilt, intense anxiety, panic, and other negative emotions. The amount of combat related stress varies depending on the particular unit. For instance, Soldiers and Marines returning from Iraq were significantly more likely to report that they were currently experiencing a mental health problem, than those who were returning from Afghanistan. They were interested in receiving help for their mental problems, and actually used mental health services.
A traumatic event is a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood ( Welch, 2005 ) One may find that thoughts about the trauma come to mind even when we don’t want them to, one may become upset if something reminds him of the event. Person may be easily startled or angered, irritable or anxious and preoccupied with staying safe.
It might also be hard to concentrate or sleep, or one may face physical problems like constipation, rapid breathing, diarrhea, rapid heart rate. It is very important to avoid reminders of trauma. The victim of PTSD constantly feels intense fear, has chronic headaches, stomach pain, muscle cramps, burning in the chest. PTSD results in losing trust in others and thinking that the world is a dangerous place. Symptoms of depression like anxious or empty mood, lost of interest in once-enjoyed activities, feelings of guilt and shame may also develop. It is important to help identify and treat PTSD instead of punishing the officers who suffer from it. Treatment and support are critical to one’s recovery. PTSD can be treated with success, one can learn how to manage his memories and the feelings they bring up. It may seem painful to face the trauma, but with the help of a mental health professionals the problem might be solved. There are several kinds of therapy: cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, psychodynamic therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. After a traumatic experience, the mind and the body are in shock. But as one analyses what happened and tries to manage emotions, he comes out of it. With post-traumatic stress disorder, however, person remains in psychological shock. Memory of what happened and feelings about it are disconnected. In order to move on, it’s necessary to face and feel memories and emotions.( Corso, 2009) After a traumatic event everyone of us experiences some of the given above symptoms, it is normal to have bad dreams after some stressful day, or feel fearful. These symptoms gradually disappear as the time passes, but the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder don’t decrease, they can arise suddenly, or come and go over time. In this case it is important to seek help right away: the sooner it is revealed, the easier is treatment.
Many soldiers witnessed extremely traumatic events and it is not uncommon then to have PTSD. Hundreds of the soldiers returning from Iraq are suffering from PTSD. Some soldiers have been harassed or even discharged by superiors for seeking help. The military, however, has been investigating a number of way to treat disorders of the brain like PTSD. There are certainly cases where soldiers have been discharged for seeking help, but individuals deserve treatment and the military does have treatment available. At least 20 percent to 25 percent of the soldiers who have served in Iraq display symptoms of serious mental-health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although, administration officials say there are extensive programs to heal soldiers both at home and in Iraq, even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. Some officers after coming back from Iraq feel so desperate that think of suicide, other say they feel betrayed by the way officials have treated them. Since the war in Vietnam, military leaders have claimed, that soldiers who are wounded emotionally need help, just like soldiers missing limbs. The Pentagon has sent therapists to Iraq to work with soldiers in the field. And at Army bases in the United States, mental-health units offer individual and group therapy, and counseling for substance abuse. But soldiers say that in practice, the mental-health programs don't work the way they should.
(Zwerdling, 2009) Soldiers also say that even when they request support, the mental-health unit is so overwhelmed that they can't get the help they need. Pentagon is hiring more staff for mental health services, but the military also wants new and better ways to handle PTSD and related illnesses: they are requesting proposals for projects to improve diagnosis and treatment, and maybe even prevent post-war trauma entirely.
As was mentioned above, the sooner the problem is identified, the easier is to get rid of it. Sleep disorders are a common symptom of PTSD, but diagnosis requires expensive tests in dedicated sleep clinics.
Now the military is on the verge of using a portable sleep monitoring system that would be cheap enough for widespread at-home use. This is more of post-combat treatment, but there are other projects which may allow diagnosis on the earlier stage, when soldiers are still in combat. Therefore, the military wants to use portable system that can diagnose traumatic brain injury using speech pattern analysis. Earlier diagnosis could improve treatment outcome, and might even prevent soldiers with undetected problems from being redeployed. But even better would be stopping wartime stress at the source.
I would like stress on the alternative ways of PTSD treatment. Of course, it is sometimes necessary to take medicine, it lowers anxiety and depression, helps with sleep problems( sedatives), but still, my point of view is that the best way to overcome the PTSD is to influence on our emotions. Therefore, support groups may be of significant help. Talking to other survivors of trauma can be a helpful step in one’s recovery. One can share his thoughts to help resolve his feelings, gain confidence in coping with his memories and symptoms and find comfort in knowing he is not alone. Nowadays, army is looking for new ways of brain injuries and post-traumatic stress treatment. As far as majority of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have some post-traumatic stress, the government is looking for alternate means to treat these injuries, and wants to support the use of alternative therapies if they are proven to be sufficient. One of the more current methods they are investigating at this time is actually yoga. They are finding that the exercises in yoga relieve the brain of undue stress allowing time for it to heal. It is also important to follow diet. It is suggested that people with PTSD symptoms avoid stimulants, such as caffeine from chocolate, coffee, black tea, colas as well as alcohol. Maintaining balanced blood sugar levels helps stabilize moods.( Williams, 1994)
Animal therapy is also very important. Dogs have been assisting people with mental illnesses since the late 1990s. About 10,000 such dogs are now in use. New, preliminary research suggests that the dogs may be particularly helpful for people with PTSD. People who use psychiatric service dogs have the same legal rights as those with Seeing Eye dogs to take their dogs into restaurants, buses or other places where animals usually aren’t allowed. The dogs can serve their owners in several ways. For instance, they can sense when someone with bipolar disorder is becoming manic and give an alert by barking. The dogs also can provide a reality check to people experiencing hallucinations; if the dog doesn’t react to voices, it’s assurance that no one else is in the room.( Williams, 1994)
Another breakthrough in the PTSD treatment is by means of virtual reality. It might seem weird, but a new, high-tech system designed to treat military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a sort of a video game. Psychologists have created a virtual world that simulates the sources of combat stress. The project is a project shared between the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California and the Office of Naval Research. The purpose is to help veterans come to terms with what they've experienced in places like Iraq and Afghanistan by immersing vets in the sights and sounds of those theaters of battle.
Self-care is also part of treatment. Recovering from PTSD is a slow process. It is sufficient to connect with friends and relatives. Isolation can make one feel worse. Having meaningful social and family connections can have a positive impact on health and healing. Relaxation plays a significant role in PTSD treatment as well, it may include listening to soothing music, reading a book or taking a walk. It is also possible to relax by deep breathing, yoga, meditation or massage therapy. Using drugs, alcohol or smoking to relax is not appropriate.( Williams, 1994)
Post-traumatic stress disorder may be defined as an emotional illness that usually develops as a result of some threatening event. Victims of PTSD are exquisitely sensitive to normal life experiences. Although this condition has likely existed since human beings have endured trauma, PTSD has only been recognized as a formal diagnosis since 1980. Nowadays it is extremely important to pay attention to what is happening in the military, as far as usually soldiers are deprived of the needed assistance. It is necessary to diagnose PTSD as soon as possible. There are different ways which are useful in fighting against PTSD. The most effective are to my mind yoga, animal therapy, group therapy, virtual therapy. In other words I personally support non- traditional way of treating. Less medicine, less injections, but more emotional treatment, that is what I stand for.
