PTSDBy: Kristen Schwab, Valerie Calhoun, Liz Currie, Cameron Brown

What is PTSD?

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

an anxiety disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, terrorism or other threats on a person's life

People who experience assault- based trauma are more likely to develop PTSD

Children are less likely to experience PTSD

especially if they are under 10 years old

Term PTSD was developed in the late 1970’s

diagnoses of Vietnam War veterans

(Wikipedia 1)

Symptoms

Reliving the events

Flashbacks, nightmares

A trigger

Something you see, hear, smell that reminds you of your traumatic event

Avoiding situations that remind you of the event

Negative changes in beliefs and feelings

Hyperarousal

being jittery, alert for danger

(U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD 1)

The History of PTSD

-PTSD was not an officially documented disorder until the Vietnam

-In World War 1 “Shell Shock” was the “pre-diagnosed PTSD” and in World War 2 it was known as combat stress or combat exhaustion (Washington Post, 2013)

-American psychiatrists struggled with identifying and naming the variety of effects that the veterans came back with. PTSD was not an officially documented disorder in World War 2.

-Men engaged in combat in world war ll lost their fighting effectiveness after 90 days in combat

-Soldiers in combat would often experience emotions such as terror, panic, anger, sorrow, bewilderment, helplessness, uselessness, and mental instability (Ramsay, 2010)

-

-http://historyofptsd.umwblogs.org/world-war-ii/

The History of PTSD

-It is difficult to determine the prevalence of PTSD among WWII veterans because the diagnostic criteria were not determined until 35 years after the war. Many WWII veterans with PTSD received such diagnoses as Anxiety Neurosis, Depressive Neurosis, Melancholia, Anti-social Personality, or even Schizophrenia because the correct diagnosis did not yet exist. (Langer, 2007)

-A common symptom that soldiers endured in post war was “Survivor’s Guilt” which was a feeling soldiers get when they have lost a fellow soldier in deathly incidents. This is an excerpt of a former World War 2 Veteran,

“Survivor’s guilt is still my strongest stressor. I make modern soldiers privy to my emotional baggage to show them that they are not unique or weird. I tell them about my bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force during WWII and the day that my B-17 exploded over Berlin. How I am plagued with guilt over the loss of four of my crewmates that day.” (Russel, Washington Post)

-

Treatment for PTSDPrimary treatment is psychotherapy

1.Cognitive Therapy- talk therapy helps recognize the ways of thinking that are keeping you stuck

changes thoughts about the trauma that are not true or that cause you stress

2.Exposure Therapy- This behavioral therapy helps you safely face what you find frightening so that you can learn to cope with it effectively

3.Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing- combines exposure therapy with a series of guided eye movements that help you process traumatic memories

you focus on distractions like hand movements and sounds while talking about the traumatic event (Mayo Clinic Staff 1)

Medication

Antidepressants- They can also help improve sleep problems and concentration.

Anti-Anxiety medication- can improve feelings of anxiety and stress for a short time to relieve severe anxiety and related problems. Because these medications have the potential for abuse, they are not usually taken long term.

Prazosin- prazosin may reduce or suppress nightmares

(Mayo Clinic Staff 1)

Statistics/Impact PTSD has on modern times

1,100 troops

hataken their

own lives since

2006

18 veterans commit suicide each day- 126

each week, 6,522 each

year

1 in 3 returning troops are

diagnosed with PTSD- less than

40% will seek help

At least 20% of all Iraq &

Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD or

depression

200k veterans go homeless each day-

45% suffer from PTSD or other

mental illnesses

Since October 2001- 50,406

soldiers wounded in combat…

239,174 veterans diagnosed with

PTSD

WORKS CITED "The Statistics - PTSD Foundation of America | Combat Trauma Support Groups, Camp Hope Houston, Warrior Shield Fort Hood, Warrior's Shield Radio." PTSD Foundation of America Combat Trauma Support Groups Camp Hope Houston Warrior Shield Fort Hood Warriors Shield Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.

"PTSD." Treatments and drugs. Ed. Mayo Clinic Staff. Mayo Clinic, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/basics/treatment/con-20022540>.

"Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.<

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder>

"PTSD: National Center for PTSD." Symptoms of PTSD -. U.S Department of Veterans, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.<

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/symptoms_of_ptsd.asp>