Many people have heard the term PTSD but how many truly understand how it effects out veterans.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, such as war/combat, a serious accident, a natural disaster, rape/sexual assault or who have been threatened with death, serious injury or sexual violence. Formerly known as “shell shock” during World War I and “combat fatigue” after World War II, PTSD is not specific to just combat military veterans but can also occur in all people of any nationality or culture, ethnicity, and at any age. Approximately 3.5 percent of US adults are affected every year and an estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from PTSD and US Latinos, African Americans, and American Indians have been found to have higher rates of PTSD than non-Latino whites.
People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts related to their traumatic experience. These thoughts last long after the traumatic event has ended. People with PTSD may have intrusive thoughts and may relive the traumatic event through repeated, involuntary memories, flashbacks or nightmares. They may feel intense feelings of fear, anger, sadness and they may feel detached and estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid people, places, objects and situations that remind them of the traumatic event and may have extreme negative emotional and physical reactions to reminders of the trauma such as panic attacks, heart palpitations and uncontrollable shaking. Ordinary events such as a loud noise or an accidental touch may also result in a strong negative reaction. They may be unable to remember important aspects of the traumatic event and may have distorted beliefs about oneself or others (i.e., “No one can be trusted,” “I am a bad person”). It is important to differentiate between PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder. In acute stress disorder, people may experience symptoms similar to those described above in the days following a traumatic event however for a person to receive a diagnosis of PTSD, symptoms must be present for more than a month and must cause the person significant distress and negatively affect the person’s daily functioning.
Roxanne R. Stepnowski, Psy.D
Clinical Psychologist
