PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS
Post - Traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD.
Causes
You can develop post-traumatic stress disorder when you go through, see or learn about an event involving actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violation.
Doctors aren't sure why some people get PTSD. As with most mental health problems, PTSD is probably caused bya complex mix of:
Stressful experiences, including the amount and severity of trauma you've gone through in your life
Inherited mental health risks, such as family history of anxiety and depression
Inherited features of your personality — often called your temperament
The way your brain regulates the chemicals and hormones your body releases in response to stress
Symptoms
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may start within one month of a traumatic event, but sometimes symptoms may not appear until years after the event. These symptoms cause significant problems in social or work situations and in relationships. They can also interfere with your ability to go about your normal daily tasks.
PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. Symptoms can vary overtime or vary from person to person.
Intrusive memories
Symptoms of intrusive memories may
include:
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event
Avoidance
Symptoms of avoidance may include:
Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
Avoiding places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event
Negative changes in thinking and mood
Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include:
Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world
Hopelessness about the future
Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
Difficulty maintaining close relationships
Feeling detached from family and friends
Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
Feeling emotionally numb
Changes in physical and emotional reactions
Symptoms of changes in physical and emotional reactions (also called arousal symptoms) may include:
Being easily startled or frightened
Always being on guard for danger
Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
Trouble sleeping
Trouble concentrating
Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
Overwhelming guilt or shame
Treatments
People suffering from PTSD usually go through severe trauma after the incident which causes non stop thinking about the event, they are all filled with Emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, shame, anxiety which take a long time to settle down. Not all the people who go through such trauma suffer from long term PTSD.
Consulting the near and dear ones like family and close friends during this period or consulting a mental health professional for brief course of therapy may help in coping up with the trauma and post effects.
But the patients who are not able to completely recover from such trauma or are slipping into more advanced mental health issues like anxiety disorder, depression, addictive disorder of alcohol or drugs, being suicidal should seek emergency medical help.
Homeopathy along with proper counselling from a professional counsellor helps recover these patients in a quickly, gently without any side effects or addiction on these medicines and also saves them from going into above mentioned advanced mental health issues.
Patient’s co operation with professionals help in recovering the patient quickly out of such ailments.
