Causes Symptoms And Risks
PTSD is caused by experiencing or witnessing single, repeated or multiple events. For example:
- serious accidents
- physical and sexual assault abuse. This could include childhood or domestic abuse
- work-related exposure to trauma. Such as being in the army
- trauma related to serious health problems or childbirth
- war and conflict torture
Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD.
The risk of getting PTSD depends on how the experience affects you. PTSD is more likely to develop if the traumatic event:
- is unexpected,
- Self help
How can the NHS help me?
You can speak to your GP about your concerns. They will be able to talk to you about treatment options and coping strategies. You dont have to do what your GP thinks that you should do. But you should listen to them.
Make sure that you understand the pros and cons of your treatment options before you make a decision.
Your treatment with be managed by your GP or the community mental health team . In some cases, your treatment maybe shared between both primary and secondary care. Healthcare professionals will agree who will monitor you.
Some people will get care under the Care Programme Approach . This means that you will have a care plan and care coordinator to make sure that you get the support that you need.
Look at the following section for more information on NHS treatment.
Adult social services
What other help is available?
There may be a different service available, such as employment or isolation support.
The Link Between Ptsd Anger And Irritability
Anger and post-traumatic stress disorder often occur together. Common in this condition, anger is one of the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD and it may affect relationships with people around you.
It’s important to know that the anger of people with PTSD can become so intense that it feels out of control. When that happens, you may become aggressive toward others or even harm yourself. That doesn’t always happen, however, and not everyone with PTSD lashes out angrily.
How To Handle Ptsd
If you or a loved one is battling PTSD, please seek help. Going through this alone may cause long-term issues. In the worst-case scenario, untreated PTSD may even end in suicide.
Speaking to someone with PTSD will help you find ways to cope with triggers. From there, you can attempt to find other ways to promote calmness throughout the body. For instance, many people with PTSD find relief with full-spectrum hemp oil. Cannabinoids in full-spectrum hemp extract have been shown to bring a calming effect on the body.
Others might find help with Tranquilene. This supplement is fortified with all-natural botanicals that help provide anxiety relief and support focus. Our formula is blended with 5-HTP, the precursor to serotonin. Serotonin works in unison with the GABA in Tranquilene to not only calm a racing mind but also boost overall feelings of joy.
Have you ever suffered from PTSD? How did you cope? Help others such as yourself by sounding off in the comments below!
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Repeated Search For A Rescuer
Subconsciously looking for someone to rescue them is something many survivors understandably think about during the ongoing trauma and this can continue on after the trauma has ceased. The survivor can feel helpless and yearn for someone to come and rescue them from the pain they feel and want them to make their lives better. This sadly often leads to the survivor seeking out the wrong types of people and being re-traumatized repeatedly.
Here Is A List Of 11 Of The Most Common Signs And/or Symptoms Of Ptsd
- Flashbacks, hearing, seeing, or physically feeling the events as if it is actually occurring again
- Nightmares, or flashbacks while asleep
- Recurring frightening images or thoughts of the experience, producing emotions similar to those felt around or during the event.
- Avoidance of places, events, or things which remind the person of the trauma
- Avoidance of thoughts or feelings connected with the trauma
- Detachment from life, decreased motivation, relational distance or isolation
- Nervousness, easily startled, tense feelings
- Irritability, easily agitated, angered, frustrated
- Restlessness, edgy, pacing, tapping, hard to sit still, muscle tension, tremor, twitching
- Memory, concentration or attention issues
- Negative self-defeating thoughts, distorted views of self, others, God distorted feelings of guilt or self-blame
Are you or is someone you know suffering any combination of these symptoms after a traumatic experience or event? We can help.
The good news is that PTSD is treatable. The prognosis is good for those who do seek help. The earlier help is sought, the better the outcome.
The bad news is that PTSD is often a progressive disorder. Not only is it unlikely to go away on its own, but left untreated, the symptoms can become much worse with time. PTSD can become debilitating, interfering with your day-to-day life in a number of ways. Commonly, untreated PTSD sufferers go on to experience:
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How Does Therapy Help
Trauma therapy gives kids a way to safely share their feelings, tell their story, and get support.
In therapy, kids learn coping and calming skills to help them deal with anxiety they feel after a trauma. This makes it easier to talk about what theyve been through.
Through therapy, kids learn to adjust some of their thoughts about the trauma. They learn to let go of any guilt or shame about what happened to them. Slowly, they learn to face things they used to avoid.
Therapy helps children gain courage and confidence. Kids use their strengths to cope.
When To Get Medical Advice
It’s normal to experience upsetting and confusing thoughts after a traumatic event, but most people improve naturally over a few weeks.
You should see a GP if you or your child are still having problems about 4 weeks after the traumatic experience, or if the symptoms are particularly troublesome.
If necessary, your GP can refer you to mental health specialists for further assessment and treatment.
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Avoiding People Places Or Things
Many people with PTSD go out of their way to avoid anything that reminds them of the original trauma or could be a trigger. For example, someone with PTSD might stop driving after a car accident or avoid watching movies about hurricanes if theyve been through one.
This avoidance can become broader than a specific person or setting, says Nitschke. If someone has been a victim of sexual assault, not only do they avoid that person who might still be at their university, but they might avoid men altogether, avoid going to classes, he says. They become immobilized.
In some cases, avoidance takes the form of emotional numbing. Some people with PTSD might refuse to think or talk about the trauma, instead finding distractions in activities or alcohol or drugs, according to the American Psychological Association.
Anger And Ptsd In Combat Veterans
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us more about their impact on men and women in military service. It’s become clear that veterans are at risk for a number of mental health problems, including PTSD and extreme anger.
Yet, it’s key to remember that you are not alone in this. There are a variety of treatment options available and other vets that are feeling the same way. The more we learn about PTSD in veterans, the more we are learning about effective therapies, and more service members are finding help.
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Your Digestion May Change
Youve probably heard the phrase, oh you scared the **** out of me well, its based on truth. PTSD can trigger the release of corticotropin-releasing factor which can have a massive affect on your intestinal function your fear system believes, if you remove any excess weight from your system, it will allow you to flee any dangerous situation quicker hence many animals will poop uncontrollably if they are scared.
With this CRF remaining in your system over long periods of time as a result of PTSD, it can cause havoc to your digestive system even causing IBS in some people.
In addition to this, cortisol can be responsible for bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux and other irritable bowel problems. Excess cortisol erodes the lining of your digestive tract via inflammation, and increased cortisol also inhibits your stomach from digesting foods properly.
Living With An Inflammatory Bowel Disease Diagnosis
See, I’ve been giving my body over to doctors for nearly a decade. In 2012, I was diagnosed with an incurable inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn’s disease that triggers my immune system to attack my digestive system. It causes bleeding and ulceration throughout my digestive tract, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and malnutrition. It causes fistulas , bowel perforations, blockages, fissures , abscesses , anemia, joint pain, fatigue, and something called toxic megacolon .
Most folks with my disease require surgery at some pointbe it bowel resectioning or removal. Many live with temporary or permanent ostomiessurgical openings that divert stool for evacuation, according to the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons. IBD also increases the risk of digestive cancers and other chronic illnesses , and the drugs that treat IBD can trigger significant side effects, like drug-induced lupus , psoriasis , and even cancer.
It’s an unfair, heartless, and often debilitating illness. Crohn’s disease, one of two types of IBD, affects about 100300 in every 100,000 people, which means more than half a million people in the US have it, according to the National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus resource.
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Emotional And Psychological Trauma
If youve experienced an extremely stressful eventor series of eventsthats left you feeling helpless and emotionally out of control, you may have been traumatized. Psychological trauma often has its roots in childhood, but any event that shatters your sense of safety can leave you feeling traumatized, whether its an accident, injury, the sudden death of a loved one, bullying, domestic abuse, or a deeply humiliating experience. Whether the trauma happened years ago or yesterday, you can get over the pain, feel safe again, and move on with your life.
What Is The Relationship Between Physical Health And Ptsd
A growing body of literature has found a link between PTSD and physical health. Some studies have found that PTSD explains the association between exposure to trauma and poor physical health. In other words, trauma may lead to poor health outcomes because of PTSD. When health problems are measured by self-report, there is a clear association with PTSD for Veterans and active duty personnel, civilian men and women, firefighters, and adolescents. Those who report that they have PTSD symptoms are more likely to have a greater number of physical health problems than those who do not have PTSD.
Similar results are found when physical health is measured by physician report or by laboratory tests. PTSD also has been found to be associated with greater medical service utilization for physical health problems. At present, however, an association between PTSD and illness via physician diagnosis and medical service utilization has only been examined in Veteran populations. Further research is indicated to examine PTSD, physical illness, and medical service utilization in both Veteran and other traumatized populations.
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People With Ptsd May Be At Risk For Hypertension Which Can Increase One’s Risk Of A Heart Attack
Murphy said people with PTSD, or who had adverse childhood experiences, are at risk for hypertension or high blood pressure.
“They lead to elevations in chemicals in the body and hormones that are associated with a fight or flight response, and that leads to some damage to blood vessels in the body,” he said. “That can make people more likely to have a heart attack or stroke even decades later. It may also increase the risk of certain types of cancer,” he continued.
According to Premier Health, people with PTSD were at an increased risk for a heart attack or stroke because their blood vessels don’t expand as they normally should.
Are There Physical Problems That Are Commonly Associated With Ptsd
People with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, muscle tension, nausea, joint pain, headaches, back pain or other types of pain. The person in pain may not realize the connection between their pain and a traumatic event. For people with chronic pain, the pain may actually serve as a reminder of the traumatic event, which in turn may intensify PTSD symptoms. Some people who develop PTSD and chronic pain also experience depression and alcohol and prescription medication misuse. Chronic PTSD has been shown to increase the risk of having a variety of health issues and decreased life expectancy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the perception of the lethal threat of the virus has been associated with stress and trauma-related somatic symptoms.
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You May Get Frequent Aches And Pains
Prolonged high cortisol levels from PTSD can deplete your adrenal glands, which in turn, raises the level of prolactin and therefore your sensitivity to pain increases. Its real physical pain caused by PTSD.
In addition to this, the anxiety and hypervigilance that often comes with PTSD can also increase the tension you put on your muscles and joints in general. One PTSD suffer commented, Id wake up in the morning and my wrists and ankles would be agony Id been sleeping in such a tight, wound-up position what my joints just couldnt keep up
Why Do Some People Get Ptsd After A Traumatic Event And Others Don’t
Studies have found that in fact most people recover and do not develop PTSD after exposure to a major traumatic event. However, some people find themselves feeling worse as time passes and experience the symptoms of PTSD. Several factors before and after a traumatic event seem to increase the likelihood of PTSD. For example, the risk is greater when the traumatic event is more severe, violent, occurs over a longer period of time or involves harm to oneself or loss of a loved one. Being around reminders of the traumatic event can also increase the risk. In general women are more likely than men and younger people more likely than older to develop PTSD. People who had adverse childhood experiences, especially exposure to traumatic events, are more susceptible, as are people with chronic medical or psychiatric illness.
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Most People Know That The Symptoms Of Post
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that some people develop after a traumatic life event. Usually, this life event is something very upsetting or disturbing, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident or sexual assault. Sometimes PTSD develops after less significant events. The effect that this event has on an individual and their reaction to it plays a fundamental role in the development of PTSD.
Living with PTSD can make a person feel constantly uneasy, on-edge, scared and depressed. The symptoms of PTSD affect each person differently. However, there are some side effects and common features that are worth considering when trying to understand what PTSD feels like.
What Is The Agenda For Clinical Practice
One agenda for clinical practice is for mental-health workers to increase collaboration with primary and specialty medical care professionals in order to better address this relationship between PTSD and health problems. Medical personnel need to become more aware of the potential harmful effects trauma and PTSD can have on health. Specifically, it is important to screen for PTSD in medical settings. Studies of patients seeking physical-health care show that many have been exposed to trauma and experience posttraumatic stress but have not received appropriate mental-health care. In answer to this problem, it might be useful to integrate PTSD treatment services with medical care services.
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You Have Extreme Emotional Reactions
When you are experiencing PTSD, your fight-or-flight reactions intensify. When your body feels unsafe, you live in a state of hyper-vigilance. “This can lead to having an extreme emotional reaction to stressful or anxious situations, especially if this reaction is much more intense than what you felt before the trauma,”trauma therapist Michele Quintin, LCSW tells Bustle. Once again, the best way to deal with these emotions is to seek the help of a professional.
Ptsd And Physical Capacity
Though the manifestation of PTSD symptoms is primarily mental and psychological in nature, there are physical symptoms that often occur with the condition as well, especially as a result of stress, anxiety and depression. These physical symptoms can include fatigue, dizziness, fainting and headaches.When PTSD symptoms are at their worst, both the physical and psychological manifestations of the disorder can be very pronounced. Debilitating physical symptoms can make it impossible for PTSD sufferers to perform their everyday job responsibilities, whether they work in sedentary jobs or more active or manual labor positions. Your ability to continue to perform the physical requirements of your own job depends entirely on how severe your physical symptoms are and how frequently they occur.
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Ptsd And Relationship Violence
If your relationship is affected by PTSD, it’s wise to learn about the association between it and violence. While the two are connected, not everyone with PTSD is abusing or will abuse their partner. However, if you or someone you know is a victim of relationship violence, it’s important to know there are resources available.
Unfortunately, research has found a connection between PTSD and relationship violence. On a yearly basis, between eight and 21% of people in serious intimate relationships take aggressive actions against their partners.