2. What is PTSD?
●
PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
● It is a disorder that occurs after a
person has faced a traumatic event in
their life such as
● - combat
● - child sexual or physical abuse
● - terrorist attack
●
- sexual or physical assault
● - serious accidents
● - natural disasters such as tornadoes,
hurricanes, earthquakes or floods
3. What is PTSD?
● It was first recognized after soldiers
returned back from WWI suffering
from what was called war neurosis
● It was later called shell shock or
battle fatigue syndrome
● Diagnosis and primitive treatment
began in the early 1930's. These
treatments included insulin comas,
drug induced convulsions,
electroconvulsive therapy and
psychosurgery
4. How does PTSD develop?
Whether or not you get PTSD
depends on many things:
• How intense the trauma was or how long it
lasted
• If you were injured or lost someone
important to you
• How close you were to the event
• How strong your reaction was
• How much you felt in control of events
•How much help and support you got after
the event
5. What are the symptoms?
● Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms)
- You may have bad memories or nightmares. You even may feel like you're going
through the event again. This is called a flashback.
● Avoiding situations that remind you of the event
- You may try to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the traumatic
event. You may even avoid talking or thinking about the event.
● Negative changes in beliefs and feelings
- The way you think about yourself and others may change because of the trauma.
You may feel fear, guilt, or shame. Or, you may not be interested in activities you used
to enjoy. This is another way to avoid memories.
● Feeling keyed up (also called hyperarousal)
- You may be jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. Or, you may
have trouble concentrating or sleeping.
6. Symptoms in children
● Children age birth to 6 may get upset if
their parents are not close by, have trouble
sleeping, or suddenly have trouble with
toilet training or going to the bathroom.
● Children age 7 to 11 may act out the
trauma through play, drawings, or stories.
Some have nightmares or become more
irritable or aggressive. They may also want
to avoid school or have trouble with
schoolwork or friends.
● Children age 12 to 18 have symptoms
more similar to adults: depression, anxiety,
withdrawal, or reckless behavior like
substance abuse or running away.
7. Other symptoms
● Feelings of hopelessness,
shame, or despair
● Depression or anxiety
● Drinking or drug problems
● Physical symptoms or chronic
pain
● Employment problems
● Relationship problems,
including divorce
8. Types of treatment
● Psychotherapy -Psychotherapy, or counseling,
involves meeting with a therapist. There are
different types of psychotherapy:
1. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most
effective treatment for PTSD. There are different types
of CBT, such as cognitive therapy and exposure therapy.
−One type is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
where you learn skills to understand how trauma
changed your thoughts and feelings.
2. Another type is Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy
where you talk about your trauma repeatedly until
memories are no longer upsetting. You also go to places
that are safe, but that you have been staying away from
because they are related to the trauma.
• A similar kind of therapy is called Eye Movement
Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which
involves focusing on sounds or hand movements while
you talk about the trauma.
● Medications
Medications can be effective too. A type of drug
known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
(SSRI), which is also used for depression, is
effective for PTSD. Another medication called
Prazosin has been found to be helpful in
decreasing nightmares related to the trauma.
IMPORTANT: Benzodiazepines and
atypical antipsychotics should generally be
avoided for PTSD treatment because they
do not treat the core PTSD symptoms.
9. General US Statistics
● Almost 50% of outpatient mental health
patients have PTSD
● Women are twice as likely to develop
over men. Estimates are 1 out of 10
women develop PTSD
● An estimated 24.4 million Americans
have PTSD. That's roughly 8% of
population
● 70% of American adults have
experienced some type of traumatic
event. That's 223.4 million, up to 20%
of them develop PTSD
10. Combat Statistics
● Studies estimate 1 in 5 military
personnel returning from
Afghanistan and Iraq have PTSD
● 17% of combat troops are
women;71% of them develop
PTSD from sexual assault within
their ranks
● Lifetime occurrence in combat vets
is 10-30%
● 20% of deployed soldiers in the
past 6 years have PTSD. That's
over 300,000
11. Statistics of Teens & Children
● 3-6% of US high school students who
survive disasters develop PTSD
● 3-15% of girls and 1-6% of boys will
develop PTSD
● 14-43% of boys and 15-43% of girls will
experience a traumatic event in their
lifetime.
● 77% of children will witness a school
shooting
● 35% of urban youth who are exposed
to community violence
● 90% of sexually abused children
12. References
● Goldberg, MD, J. (2014, Feb 11). Post traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/post-traumatic-stress-disorder
● US Department of Veteran's Affairs. (2014, Oct 03). Ptsd:national center for ptsd. Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/index.asp
● Tull,PhD, M. (2014, Jan 01).9-11 and PTSD Rates. Retrieved from http://ptsd.about.com/od/causesanddevelopment/a/Sept11_PTSD.htm
●
Smith, M.A., M., & Segal PhD, J. (2014, September 1). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Retrieved October 9, 2014, from
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/post-traumatic-stress-disorder.htm
● Rosenthal, M. (n.d.). PTSD Statistics. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://healmyptsd.com/education/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics
●
Sultz, H., & Young, K. (2014). Chapter 10: Mental Health Services. In Health care USA: Understanding its organization and delivery (8th ed., p. 397). Sudbury,
Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning
