What Is Complex Ptsd
Some people develop complex post-traumatic stress disorder . This is caused by experiencing an event or series of events that are extremely threatening or horrifying. These events can happen during childhood or as an adult.
Quite often these events will have been difficult or impossible to easily escape from or avoid. For example:
- living in a war zone
- prolonged domestic violence
- repeated childhood sexual or physical abuse.
As well as the symptoms of PTSD, people with complex PTSD might also:
- have extremely negative beliefs about themselves as diminished, defeated or worthless
- have great difficulty in regulating their emotions and emotional responses
- find it extremely difficult to keep relationships and feel close to other people
How To Get Help For Ptsd And Other Conditions
If youre living with PTSD and substance use disorder or other conditions, dont lose hope. Many resources exist for people experiencing these conditions.
You may want to begin by seeking help from your primary care physician. They can provide referrals to additional resources where necessary. If you already have a trusted counselor or psychiatrist, they would be a safe and helpful person to reach out to.
Its important to be honest and open about all of your symptoms when speaking with any mental health professional you work with. This includes symptoms related to PTSD and those that could be related to other conditions, such as panic disorder or depression. Doing so ensures that you will receive the help that you need to start healing.
There are various evidence-based treatments for PTSD, including:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy .CBT helps people challenge the patterns of behaviors, feelings, and thoughts that are causing distress.
- Cognitive processing therapy . CPT helps people modify and challenge unhelpful trauma-related beliefs.
- Prolonged exposure therapy. This type of CBT teaches people to gradually approach memories, feelings, and places related to the trauma to learn that they arent dangerous.
Drug Cutting & Illicit Xanax
When sold on the streets, Xanax can be identified by various slang terms, such as Xannies, Bars, Z-Bars, Zanbars, Xanbars, Handlebars, Planks, or Bricks, among others. The drug is typically sold as pills or tablets but can also be injected. People abuse Xanax for its relaxing qualities that cause sensations of calmness and euphoria.
Medical professionals warn that it is dangerous to buy Xanax online or from distributors other than licensed pharmacies. Products sold by such vendors often contain dangerous ingredients that are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration. Many people end up in the emergency room or suffer fatal consequences for consuming Xanax that has been laced with products unbeknownst to them.
Another danger of buying Xanax illicitly is that it is sold in highly potent variations. Health care professionals have worked with teenagers who have bought Xanax bars on the streets at much higher doses than what a doctor would prescribe. Various versions of the drug that are commonly cut with other substances are often marketed online as research chemicals and can be purchased by anyone. Mixing even small amounts of alcohol with such drugs, as many people using Xanax recreationally do, can be fatal.
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How Is Ptsd Assessed
PTSD is diagnosed by a mental health provider. This may involve several steps, including being assessed. Learn how you can start the process, the types of measures used, and what to expect.
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You can ask any provider. You can ask your primary care physician. You can even say, ‘I’d like to be assessed for PTSD.’
Dr. Abigail Angkaw
Domestic Violence & Ptsd
According to the claim, Amber Heard has developed this condition as a result of physical violence by her ex-husband Johny Depp. A considerable body of research has demonstrated that women who are abused by their male partners are at substantially elevated risk for the development of PTSD.
Studies show that the prevalence rate of PTSD on a global level among domestic violence survivors is between 31 per cent and 84 per cent, compared to about 3.5 per cent of the general population. According to an Indian study published online by the National Library of Medicine in 2009, among women reporting IPV in a survey, 14 per cent exceeded cut-off scores for PTSD and 20 per cent exceeded cut-off scores for sub-threshold PTSD.
Clearly, domestic violence can lead to PTSD, but what if it is alleged that someone’s PTSD is fake and not real? Does this happen at all?
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What Is A Ptsd Screen
To develop PTSD, you must have gone through a traumatic experience, or trauma. If you tell a provider about this type of event, you might be given a screen to see if you could have PTSD. A screen is a very short list of questions about your thoughts, feelings and behaviors since the trauma. The results of the screen do not show whether a person has PTSD. A screen only helps a provider understand if you should be assessed further. Learn about PTSD Screening Day and take a self-screen at any time.
Do Children React Differently Than Adults
Children and teens can have extreme reactions to trauma, but some of their symptoms may not be the same as adults. Symptoms sometimes seen in very young children , these symptoms can include:
- Wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet
- Forgetting how to or being unable to talk
- Acting out the scary event during playtime
- Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult
Older children and teens are more likely to show symptoms similar to those seen in adults. They may also develop disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive behaviors. Older children and teens may feel guilty for not preventing injury or deaths. They may also have thoughts of revenge.
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Why Doesn’t Everyone Get Ptsd After A Traumatic Experience
After a traumatic experience, many people will have some trauma symptoms for the first month or so. Many of these symptoms are normal reactions to experiencing real or perceived danger. You can think about them as your brains way of protecting you from harm.
However, most people will process what has happened after a few weeks, or sometimes a little longer, and their stress symptoms will start to disappear.
Research shows that certain groups of people are at increased risk of developing PTSD. The risk of developing PTSD is decreased if someone can:
- access social support and
- causes mutilation
- involves children.
If you continue to be exposed to stress and uncertainty, this will make it more difficult for your PTSD symptoms to improve.
You may have got over a traumatic event if you can:
- think about it without becoming overly distressed
- not feel constantly under threat
- not think about it at inappropriate times.
There are a number of reasons why someone with PTSD might not be diagnosed.
And Thats The Entire Point: To Make Sure The Deserving Get The Help They Need
Every time I write about PTSD fraud or abuses every time Im deluged by the same angry comments. PTSD is real! Youre the reason vets dont get help! All veterans are heroes! Murica!
Yes, PTSD is real. Nothing Ive ever written, here or anywhere else, even hints its not. No, Im not the reason vets dont get help Im not clogging the system with false claims, or stealing money from the finite resource pool, or convincing the public that combat veterans are unstable lunatics wholl snap at the sound of a bottle rocket. And unfortunately, as the massive VA fraud shows, not all veterans are heroes.
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Beyond Treatment: How Can I Help Myself
It may be very hard to take that first step to help yourself. It is important to realize that although it may take some time, with treatment, you can get better. If you are unsure where to go for help, ask your family doctor. You can also check NIMH’s Help for Mental Illnesses page or search online for mental health providers, social services, hotlines, or physicians for phone numbers and addresses. An emergency room doctor can also provide temporary help and can tell you where and how to get further help.
To help yourself while in treatment:
- Talk with your doctor about treatment options
- Engage in mild physical activity or exercise to help reduce stress
- Set realistic goals for yourself
- Break up large tasks into small ones, set some priorities, and do what you can as you can
- Try to spend time with other people, and confide in a trusted friend or relative. Tell others about things that may trigger symptoms.
- Expect your symptoms to improve gradually, not immediately
- Identify and seek out comforting situations, places, and people
Caring for yourself and others is especially important when large numbers of people are exposed to traumatic events .
Arousal And Reactivity Symptoms Include:
- Being easily startled
- Feeling tense or on edge
- Having difficulty sleeping
- Having angry outbursts
Arousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic events. These symptoms can make the person feel stressed and angry. They may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating.
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John Sees A Huge Difference Between Ptsd Therapy Within The Va And Treatment Outside
In every other clinical setting, PTSD is considered pretty easily treatable with a relatively short duration of exposure therapy. But in the VA, its disabling for life. We pay people to be sick and to stay sick. If you wanted to create a perfect way to keep people from getting better, youd invent the VA compensation system.
And hes frustrated nearly to the point of disgust with the VAs willingness to turn almost any claimed trauma into a monthly check for life. People experience trauma every day. Weve all had car wrecks or near misses. Weve lost loved ones. Weve been crime victims. In normal life, we recover from those things. But in the VA, if a rocket landed a kilometer away and didnt hit anyone, youre disabled forever.
John says many PTSD claimants have been coached to inflate those rocket attacks, and other similar events, into lifelong trauma by Veteran Services Organizations . Some of the more naïve vets will tell me they were coached, John said. Theyll say, The guy I talked to said to tell you I have these specific symptoms, and to make sure you write them down. Several vets have told us that when they talk to VSO reps, the first question is, Have you gotten your PTSD yet?
Just read this:
VA disability fraud? The head of one VSO has argued that anyone deployed to any war zone, in any capacity, should be presumed to have suffered enough trauma to have PTSD.
How To Fake Ptsd
anthony
Founder
MyPTSD Pro
that is scary!!!just living life,to grim
MyPTSD Pro
amethist
MyPTSD Pro
emmat
Confident
Wikipedia: said:Factitious disorders are conditions in which a person acts as if he or she has an illness by deliberately producing, feigning, or exaggerating symptoms. Factitious disorder by proxy is a condition in which a person deliberately produces, feigns, or exaggerates symptoms in a person who is in their care. Munchausen syndrome is an older term for Factitious disorder. People with this condition may produce symptoms by contaminating urine samples, taking hallucinogens, injecting themselves with bacteria to produce infections, and other such similar behaviour. People with this condition might be motivated to perpetrate factitious disorders either as a patient or by proxy as a caregiver to gain any variety of benefits including attention, nurturance, sympathy, and leniency that are unobtainable any other way.
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Why Do Some People Develop Ptsd And Other People Do Not
It is important to remember that not everyone who lives through a dangerous event develops PTSD. In fact, most people will not develop the disorder.
Many factors play a part in whether a person will develop PTSD. Some examples are listed below. Risk factors make a person more likely to develop PTSD. Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder.
Some factors that increase risk for PTSD include:
- Living through dangerous events and traumas
- Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear
- Having little or no social support after the event
- Dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and injury, or loss of a job or home
- Having a history of mental illness or substance abuse
Some factors that may promote recovery after trauma include:
- Seeking out support from other people, such as friends and family
- Finding a support group after a traumatic event
- Learning to feel good about ones own actions in the face of danger
- Having a positive coping strategy, or a way of getting through the bad event and learning from it
- Being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear
Researchers are studying the importance of these and other risk and resilience factors, including genetics and neurobiology. With more research, someday it may be possible to predict who is likely to develop PTSD and to prevent it.
Shouldn’t You Be Over It By Now
There are treatments for PTSD, but none are quick fixes. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, there are a number of treatment options, including various therapies and medications. People often work on treatment throughout their lives, possibly taking medications such as antidepressants for months or even years. In addition, handling triggers can be a life-long challenge.
“There is no universal timeline for when triggers get easier to deal with,” Lea Grover, a sexual assault survivor, told Health. Grover experienced sexual assault when they were 14 years old and again at 20 years old. Grover said they didn’t know they had PTSD until about 18 months after the second assault. Grover had their first flashback while in pain after dental surgery.
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The Emperors New Clothes A Closer Look At Malingered Ptsd
Perhaps more than any other psychiatric disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, has influenced, and been influenced by, the law. In civil law, the PTSD diagnosis illustrates landmark admission that an external event can serve as a direct cause of a mental disorder. In criminal law, PTSD is unique among other mental disorders in its invocation by both the prosecution and defense.
PTSD has been officially used since 1988, when introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition . It then became a bonafide psychiatric disorder.
Sometime back, I wrote about how limiting this condition is to the individual suffering from it: “The Humpty Dumpty Affliction.” It is a serious and debilitating condition. It is not created at will. It is beyond one’s control.
I will now describe when PTSD is not: “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
I refer to an illness that is essentially described by its symptoms, meaning the description of the person’s subjective experiences. The expert’s job during the psychiatric-legal investigation is to confront the presence or absense of signs , and thus corroborate or refute the diagnosis of PTSD.
Few personal injury cases reach the courts without an expressed or implied allegation of malingering, having as primary motivation, financial gain, and then sympathy and social support.
One has to be quite versed in what PTSD is, to be able to differentiate it from what it is not.
The Website Carries A Disclaimer
Above-board satirical websites like The Onion tell you theyre peddling satire. Less-honest sites sometimes issue confusing disclaimers. NewsBuzzDaily, for example, writes on every page that it contains both real shocking news and satire news, then adds, Please note that articles written on this site are for entertainment and satirical purposes only. So is it all satire or only partial satire? And if partial, which stories are true?
Even worse, though, is The Stately Harold. Readers should suspect the site is fake it features a simplistic, campy home page and misspells Herald as Harold. It defends itself by saying its site carries a disclaimer, and it does. This is Satire! is printed at the bottom of every page. But those words lie hidden within a black box on the bottom of the page that contains the copyright. The only way you can see them is if you highlight the copyright with your cursor. Well, who would think to do that?!
Whats the lesson here? If youre not sure about a websites legitimacy, search around to see if theres any kind of disclaimer. If you find one, that likely means the site cant be trusted, even if the disclaimer is worded confusingly. Legitimate sites dont need disclaimers.
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Ptsd And Trauma Treatment In Tennessee
At Cumberland Heights, weve been changing lives since 1966. We understand the connection between trauma, mental illness and addiction. It is our mission to help people to fully recover for life thats why weve created a curriculum rooted in proven, evidence-based modalities. Contact us for more information about our approach to trauma treatment.
What Teachers Can Do
Students with anxiety disorders may have difficulty completing classwork and homework, which can cause panic attacks and possibly lead to panic disorder.
Teachers can help ease anxiety levels by:
- keeping communications open with the student, parents or guardians, and school counselors and trying to identify triggers that may cause panic attacks
- providing a safe place and a cue system in which the student signals the teacher that a panic attack might be coming and the student needs to take a time-out
- adjusting the amount of classwork and homework
- encouraging the entire class to use relaxation techniques throughout the day
- encouraging students to exercise regularly, which can help reduce feelings of anxiety in patients with panic disorder
Students with panic attacks or panic disorder need encouragement and, sometimes, just someone to listen. A flexible and supportive environment will help improve your students class participation and encourage the student to develop coping skills.
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