YOU’s trauma advice columnist Debbi offers this information on post-traumatic stress disorder. If you think you or someone close to you has PTSD seek help from a professional.
THE CAUSES
Events that threaten your safety or make you feel helpless - a car or plane crash, assault, kidnapping, sexual abuse, medical procedures (especially in kids), war and natural disasters.
WHO GETS IT
Those personally involved, those coming to the rescue, friends or relatives of the victim and witnesses.
HOW DO YOU KNOW
It’s common to have bad dreams, feel scared or numb and be preoccupied but this should be temporary. After a few weeks you should feel better each day, otherwise you could be developing PTSD (see symptoms below). It can develop over years.
TREATMENTS
These include counselling; cognitive-behavioural therapy - gradually allowing thoughts, feelings and situations that remind you of the trauma; eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing; family therapy; and medication.
SYMPTOMS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
RELIVING THE EVENT
Among these are memories of the incident, flashbacks, nightmares and intense distress and/or physical reactions to reminders of the trauma.
AVOIDANCE AND NUMBING
You’ll be unable to recall key aspects of the trauma, lose interest in activities, feel detached and emotionally numb and have a limited sense of a future.
INCREASED AROUSAL
This includes difficulty sleeping, irritability, angry outbursts, concentration lapses, constant red alert, jumpiness and being easily startled.
PTSD can cause physical symptoms - headaches, stomach upsets and chest pain - and aggravate health problems. Studies show a link between PTSD and heart trouble.
