Post traumatic stress disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Student’s name
University
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder affects the mental status of a person. The patients suffer from continuous stress based on tragic events that occurred in the past. Tragic events primarily cause the disease. War, sexual assault, and severe accidents are the primary causes of PTSD. The American Psychological Association intimates that three in ten children suffer from the disorder in the USA. Patients relive their experiences that regenerate into traumatic experiences through nightmares and dreams regularly. The patients are likely to be full of anger, higher anxiety levels and withdrawn from other people. PTSD is easily diagnosed through M3 Checklist, GAD-7, and PTSD checklist, which are easily assessed in contemporary health facilities. Psychologists have come up with diverse self-assessment tools to diagnose the disorder. Doctors use psychotherapy and medications to treat PSDT patients, though each alternative has various options for treatment. Psychologists prefer to use cognitive therapy to treat PTSD in children for longer periods to ensure the treatment plan succeeds.
Stress disorders are now common in the society. The American Psychological Association classified the disease as a psychiatric disorder after veterans from the Vietnam War suffered from the disorder. However, ancient Greeks had classified the disease as a medical problem based on the symptoms. The disorder is caused by traumatic events such as rape, war or accidents.

Doctors have shown that in severe cases, patients have had bouts of insomnia and have problems in being attentive. The diversity of the causes has baffled physicians and psychiatrists trying to use contemporary medicine to treat the infections. Psychiatrists have confirmed that hostages of kidnapping, witnesses of violent murder, natural disaster, prolonged sexual assault, and war victims (Ender, 2010), have been confirmed as the primary causes of the disorder. Psychologists intimate that the results can be immediate or take weeks before one can be confirmed to be suffering from the disorder. Furthermore, the APA intimates that three in ten individuals are at high risk of contracting the disorder after facing traumatic events. Moreover, repeatedly facing traumatic events can lead to the contraction of complex PTSD, a rare and complex disorder with severer ramifications.
Symptoms of PTSD
Symptoms are noticeable within a month, though others develop after a few months. The symptoms grow over a period and become worse over time. However, the symptoms may vary from one individual to another. The patients suffer from re-experiencing or reliving their traumatic events through flashbacks, physical sensations, nightmares, and stressful images (Krause, Kaltman, Goodman & Dutton, 2008). Patients consistently relive their traumatic occurrences, curious of the results and angry the incidents occurred under the patient’s watch. The symptoms degenerate to shame and guilt, leading to repetitive nightmares. Furthermore, patients are likely to avoid remembering traumatic occurrences and evade people that reconnect to their traumas. The patients are also likely to numb their minds to forget the events, with tragic results. Continuous mental numbing leads to anxiety and high levels of withdrawal among the patients, creating an introverted and shy person. Psychiatrists have identified that PTSD patients are easily irritated, startled and conscious of threats. The patients have trouble in concentrating, easily irritated and suffer from insomnia. Patients also suffer from severe head and stomach aches, chest pains, drug abuse, and phobias that may ultimately lead to complex PTSD in the short-run. Recently released data indicates that PTSD patients are likely to be sociopaths, leading to occupation and relationship problems. Children face similar symptoms though some are different from adult symptoms. Imperatively, children suffering from PTSD are likely to replay their nightmares through play, bedwetting regularly and having a distant relationship with their parents.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing the disorder is difficult due to avoidance and disability among some patients. Today, various tests and assessments have been established to diagnose for PTSD. Psychiatrists use psychological evaluation to diagnose the disease. The evaluation must meet the DSM-5, a manual measuring statistically mental disorders (Rubin, Berntsen & Bohni, 2008). However, various tests such as the PTSD checklist, UCLA index, GAD-7 and M3 Checklist are commonly used to diagnose the disorder. Moreover, different institutions have established individual assessments to ensure the patients can use the tools to diagnose the disorder. Most health facilities in developed nations have machines and tools to diagnose the disorder, ensuring that the problem can easily be identified and treated within any locality. The US government has subsidized medical services for the patients, attempting to reduce to zero patients suffering from the disorder. Similarly, the government has trained thousands of physicians to diagnose and treat the disorder. The federal government plans to ensure psychiatrists visit patients’ homes’, to ensure the patients get better treatment.
Treatment
Psychotherapy and medication are the primary treatment options for PTSD patients. Therapists use both treatment options to treat severe conditions of the disorder. Psychotherapy emphasizes on treating the mental health conditions. Cognitive behaviour therapy is a primary treatment method that challenges patients to think of their traumatic events while the psychologists try to change their mentality about the issue. The therapist uses a variety of techniques to ensure the treatment succeeds in treating the patient. The psychotherapist actively helps the patient manage their traumatic occurrences while ensuring the patients forgets the unhelpful events. Moreover, the therapist helps patients control their anger and change their thinking on tragic events. The assessments usually last an hour and take nearly six weeks to ensure the person is adequately treated. Eye movements reprocessing acts as an alternative method to cognitive therapy (Back, Brady, Jaanimägi & Jackson, 2006). The therapists ensure a person follows the doctor’s movement while narrating the tragic events, to make sure that the patient forgets the ill fateful day. Charity organizations have focused on group therapy to treat PTSD patients, by letting patients share their experiences and seek ways of addressing their problems.
Medication treatment is rarely used when the patient suffers from severe depression and therapy failure in treating the disorder. Paroxetine and sertraline are primarily used to treat PTSD, with huge success in the past decade. Physicians use the medication to treat the patient for a maximum of twelve months and highly disapproved among minors below 18 years. However, side effects such as anxiety, blurred vision, diarrhea, and constipation are likely to affect the patient. Cognitive therapy suit children and takes nearly eight weeks, with easier methodologies unlike for adult patients. However, psychiatrists’ continuously undertake research on the disorder to come up with better treatment and prevention methods. Conclusively, PTSD is treatable and prevented in the society.
References
Back, S. E., Brady, K. T., Jaanimägi, U., & Jackson, J. L. (2006). Cocaine dependence and
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Ender, M. G. (2010). War causes and consequences. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of
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Krause, E. D., Kaltman, S., Goodman, L. A., & Dutton, M. A. (2008). Avoidant coping and
PTSD symptoms related to domestic violence exposure: A longitudinal study. Journal of
traumatic stress, 21(1), 83-90.
Rubin, D. C., Berntsen, D., & Bohni, M. K. (2008). A memory-based model of posttraumatic
stress disorder: evaluating basic assumptions underlying the PTSD diagnosis.
Psychological review, 115(4), 985.