Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: What is Trauma and how can it affect your life?

 

 We are  all human beings, not robots. We all have complicated thoughts, feelings and emotions. That's why it is perfectly normal to react to traumatic events, it makes us human.

What is Trauma?

In common conversation, people sometimes use the word ’traumatic’ interchangeably with ‘stressful’. If you’ve lived through a traumatic event,you know trauma and stress are not the same things. The difference is that traumatic events are life- threatening,with a traumatic event;

1. A situation that involves threat of actual death or serious injury.

2. A situation where physical well-being or someone else’s is seriously threatenend.

3. Experience with fear, helplessness or horror.

You can see things like combat,being physically or sexually assaulted,or living through a natural disaster or car accident are types of traumatic events.

What is PTSD?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post traumatic stress disorder is a common reaction to experiencing something traumatic. To have a diagnosis of PTSD, you need to have been exposed to a traumatic event that involved death,threat of death,injury or threat to the physical safety of yourself or someone else. Your reaction to this event usually involves intense fear, helplessness,or horror.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-

1. Re-experiencing-

People with PTSD often experience bad dreams about the event, may have distressing memories of the trauma,and may have times they feel the trauma is actually happening all over again. In addition,you may feel very emotionally or physically distressed when you are experiencing traumatic events.

2. Avoidance-

Because being reminded of the traumatic events are so painful,you may feel yourself going to great lengths to avoid any reminders.

For example- You might not want to talk about or think about the trauma. You might avoid certain people or places that remind you of the event. For some people,the avoidance runs so deep that they cannot remember important aspects of the events. For some  people, the avoidance runs so deep that they cannot remember important aspects of the event,also you might lack interest in life-feeling you are not connecting with people with PTSD feel numb emotionally,particularly when it comes to positive emotions.

3. Feeling constantly anxious or on edge-

The set of symptoms having to do with PTSD has to do with feeling overly anxious,worried or on edge most of the time. Many people with PTSD talk about difficulty managing their anger,or feeling very irritable.

You can check your mental conditions by these symptoms-

• You often fall or stay asleep. 
• You experience intense irritability or anger on a regular basis.
•  You often have difficulty concentrating.
•  If you feel anxious and worried much of the time, scan the environment for threats.
•  You are easily startled.
• You try to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations that remind you of traumatic events.
• You try to avoid people, places and situations that remind you of traumatic events.
• Your body reacts when things remind you of the trauma for example sweating, heart racing lightheadedness and upset stomach.