Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PTSD

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PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events, or set of circumstances. This can be emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening to an individual, and it can have an impact on their mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being. Natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war/combat, rape/sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence, and bullying are all examples.

People suffering from PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings about their traumatic experience that last long after the event has ended. They may relive the event in flashbacks or nightmares, experience sadness, fear, or anger, and feel detached or estranged from others.

They may also have difficulty sleeping, such as insomnia, and concentrating.

These symptoms are frequently severe and persistent enough to interfere with a person's daily life.

  • Intrusion: Repeated, involuntary memories; distressing dreams; or flashbacks to the traumatic event are examples of intrusive thoughts. Flashbacks can be so vivid that people believe they are reliving or seeing the traumatic experience.
  • Avoidance: Avoiding traumatic event reminders may include avoiding people, places, activities, objects, and situations that may elicit distressing memories. People may try to avoid recalling or reflecting on the traumatic event. They may be reluctant to discuss what happened or how they feel about it.
  • Alterations in cognition and mood: Inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event, negative thoughts and feelings leading to ongoing and distorted beliefs about oneself or others (e.g., “I am bad,” “No one can be trusted”); distorted thoughts about the cause or consequences of the event leading to wrongly blaming self or other; ongoing fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame; much less interest in activities previously enjoyed; feeling detached or estranged from others; or being unable to experience positive emotions (a void of happiness or satisfaction).
  • Alterations in arousal and reactivity: Arousal and reactive symptoms may include being irritable and having angry outbursts; acting recklessly or destructively; being suspicious of one's surroundings; being easily startled; or having difficulty concentrating or sleeping.

Every year, approximately 3.5 percent of adults in the United States suffer from PTSD. In adolescents aged 13 to 18, the lifetime prevalence of PTSD is 8%. One in every eleven people will be diagnosed with PTSD during their lifetime. PTSD affects women twice as much as men. Three ethnic groups are disproportionately affected and have higher rates of PTSD than non-Latino whites: US Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives.


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Related Conditions to PTSD

Acute Stress Disorder
Acute stress disorder, like PTSD, develops in response to a traumatic event, and the symptoms are similar. The symptoms, however, appear between three days and one month after the event.

Acute stress disorder patients may relive the trauma, experience flashbacks or nightmares, and feel numb or detached from themselves. These symptoms cause significant distress and difficulties in their daily lives. Approximately half of people with acute stress disorder develop PTSD. Acute stress disorder has been diagnosed in 19%-50% of people who have been victims of interpersonal violence (such as rape, assault, or intimate partner violence).

Adjustment Disorder
Adjustment disorder develops as a result of a stressful life event (or events). The emotional or behavioural symptoms that a person experiences as a result of the stressor are generally more severe or intense than would be reasonably expected for the type of event that occurred.

An estimated 5% to 20% of people in outpatient mental health treatment have an adjustment disorder as their primary diagnosis. According to a recent study, more than 15% of adults with cancer have adjustment disorder. Psychotherapy is commonly used to treat it.

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder
Disinhibited social engagement disorder develops in children under the age of two who have experienced severe social neglect or deprivation. Similar to reactive attachment disorder, it can occur when children do not meet their basic emotional needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection, or when carer changes (such as frequent foster care changes) prevent them from forming stable attachments.

Reactive Attachment Disorder
Children with reactive attachment disorder have experienced severe social neglect or deprivation during their first years of life. It can happen when children lack basic emotional needs like comfort, stimulation, and affection, or when carers change frequently (like in foster care), preventing them from forming stable attachments.

Reference:

NHS Choices. (2023). Overview - Post-traumatic stress disorder. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/overview/ ‌

‌What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? (2023). Psychiatry.org. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd#:~:text=People%20with%20PTSD%20have%20intense,or%20estranged%20from%20other%20people. ‌ ‌

‌What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? (2023). Psychiatry.org. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd#:~:text=People%20with%20PTSD%20have%20intense,or%20estranged%20from%20other%20people. ‌

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