What Is PTSD?
PTSD is an incredibly common mental health condition that affects 6% of the United States population. However, despite being fairly widespread, PTSD is still very misunderstood. Explore our guide to learn all about what PTSD is and how it affects people.
PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder. This mental health condition is a type of psychiatric disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic situation. When a person gets PTSD, the traumatic event continues to impact their life long after it’s over. PTSD typically causes flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, and disturbing thoughts.
There are two things that distinguish PTSD from typical levels of stress, grief or anxiety. First of all, it’s an ongoing condition that lasts one month or more. Secondly, PTSD has a persistent and negative effect on your well-being. It can greatly impact your life and make it hard to function. Many people with PTSD find that the symptoms cause them to alter their habits or miss out on enjoyable parts of life. PTSD symptoms can also put a person at risk for substance abuse and suicide.
PTSD vs. Acute Stress Disorder
Acute stress disorder is another type of mental health condition that can occur following trauma. Like PTSD, it also involves flashbacks, nightmares, and detachment. However, it tends to involve higher levels of dissociation and amnesia around the traumatic event. Acute stress disorder is also less long-lasting than PTSD, so it usually improves within a month.
PTSD vs. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Both PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder can have similar presentations. People with either condition tend to deal with intrusive thoughts, persistent fear, and frequent worrying. However, in generalized anxiety disorder, the condition is not tied to one specific event. People with anxiety tend to have broader phobias and stressors, and there might not be any specific issue that led to their anxiety.
What Types of Trauma Can Cause PTSD?
To understand what PTSD is, it’s necessary to take a close look at the concept of trauma. In a medical setting, trauma refers to any event that causes an intense and negative emotional disturbance. Traumatic situations can involve anything that endangers your physical, emotional, or mental well-being. There are many types of trauma, but some of the most common examples include:
- Being in a car accident
- Experiencing bullying or harassment
- Being a victim of domestic violence
- Having a serious illness or chronic health condition
- Surviving a natural disaster, like a hurricane or earthquake
- Being in military combat
- Having a job that involves witnessing violence or distressing things
- Being sexually assaulted or raped
- Experiencing the death of a loved one
When it comes to PTSD, doctors typically use a very broad definition of experiencing trauma. You don’t have to be in fear for your life or experience severe physical harm to be a trauma survivor. People can get PTSD from a variety of situations. Some may have PTSD after something happens to them while others may develop PTSD after witnessing or hearing about a horrible event. PTSD-inducing trauma can be over in a few seconds, or it can last for years.
The effect of trauma on PTSD is highly personal. You can still get PTSD from a situation even if another person who experienced the situation does not have PTSD. To define PTSD properly, it’s very important to focus on the types of symptoms you deal with instead of trying to decide whether your trauma was “severe” enough to qualify for a PTSD diagnosis.
Common PTSD Symptoms
The stereotypical depiction of PTSD usually involves a war veteran who panics at the sound of fireworks. While this is certainly possible, it’s just one of the many ways that PTSD can present itself. This condition has a broad range of different symptoms. A person’s symptoms can vary over time and strengthen or weaken in intensity as time progresses. Generally, symptoms of PTSD fall into these categories:
Intrusive Thoughts
People with PTSD have recurring, unwanted thoughts that are related to the source of their trauma. For some people, this will manifest as a flashback where they feel like they are actively reliving the trauma. Others may have frequent, ongoing memories of the trauma or have upsetting nightmares that are related to the trauma. In children with PTSD, intrusive thoughts can occur in the form of acting out the traumatic event during playtime. Not all people with PTSD have intrusive thoughts that replay the trauma exactly as it happened. In some cases, the thoughts are related to the trauma but slightly different. For example, a person who survived a bus crash may have intrusive thoughts related to plane crashes.
Heightened Levels of Alertness
For many people with PTSD, their level of alertness and sensitivity to danger is significantly different after the trauma. Some describe it as feeling like they are constantly in a “fight or flight” situation. You might feel like you are constantly vigilant to danger and are very easily startled. PTSD can cause people to frequently wake up during the night. You can also find yourself being easily distracted or having difficulty concentrating.
Avoidance of Trauma Reminders
PTSD causes major changes in people’s habits and behavior. Because any reminder of the trauma can trigger an intrusive thought, many people will begin to avoid potential reminders. For some people, this is an active attempt to do things like stay away from people who witnessed the event or avoid the location where the event occurred. In other cases, it can be more of a gradual sensation of detachment and emotional numbness as people subconsciously withdraw from triggers.
Changes in Mood
In addition to noticeable symptoms, like flashbacks, people with PTSD often have a lot of subtle mood and personality changes. Living with PTSD puts a lot of strain on a person, and this tends to result in a variety of mood issues. Irritability, depression, and anxiety are all common problems that people with PTSD report. You might also find that you struggle to experience positive emotions and feel depressed or hopeless about the future. Some people may make risky decisions or engage in dangerous activities, like substance abuse.
Understanding the PTSD Timeline
Many people assume that PTSD symptoms show up right after the event, but the reality is that they take a little time to develop. The fact that you didn’t have symptoms right after the traumatic event doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have PTSD. On average, people develop PTSD within three months of experiencing a trauma. However, there are plenty of cases where the onset of PTSD is much later. Everyone’s brains work differently, so people don’t always develop symptoms at the same time.
Once you do develop symptoms, PTSD can last quite a while. Unlike the general shock and stress that people feel after trauma, PTSD is very persistent. PTSD usually lasts around six months, but for some people, it can last years. Treatment helps shorten the time span of PTSD, but even with proper medical care, symptoms may recur throughout your life.
How to Get a PTSD Diagnosis
If you suspect that you or a loved one might have PTSD, it’s important to seek help from a medical professional. PTSD is not something that can be diagnosed at home. Instead, you’ll need to speak with an expert who can provide a professional diagnosis. In addition to ruling out other potential health problems, a PTSD diagnosis also makes it easier to get effective care.
A PTSD diagnosis mostly consists of sitting down to talk with a doctor. They’ll ask about your history and check to see which PTSD symptoms you are experiencing. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor might also perform some simple physical tests to rule out other health problems, like thyroid issues, that may cause similar symptoms.
Treatment Options for PTSD
Fortunately, PTSD care has gone through a lot of advancements in the past few decades. This condition now has several very effective treatment options. Depending on your situation, your doctor might suggest one or more of the following types of treatment.
Therapy
For many clients, therapy is one of the best treatment options. It gives you the ability to explore and process your trauma, and it also provides you with many stress-management skills. During therapy, a licensed professional will speak with you and guide you through various exercises. Some of the most common types of therapy for PTSD are:
- Cognitive therapy: This therapy method focuses on examining your thought patterns. Your therapist will help you identify maladaptive beliefs that are harming you and recommend ways to restructure your thoughts into healthier patterns.
- Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy is a type of behavioral therapy that provides assistance with coping skills. You confront your PTSD triggers in a safe setting and slowly develop ways of dealing with them without avoiding them.
- EMDR therapy: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy combines physical and mental exercises to help you process trauma. Your therapist guides you through eye movements while you carefully examine your memories.
Medication
Medication is a helpful way of managing PTSD symptoms. Though there is no specific medication that instantly cures PTSD, it can help reduce severe symptoms so that you can have space to process your trauma. The most common option for PTSD is an anti-anxiety medication that calms stress. Some clients also benefit from antidepressants to reduce depression or Prazosin to help with nightmares.
Lifestyle Changes
Many clients find relief from certain lifestyle changes. Since PTSD impacts your entire life, taking steps to improve your general well-being can provide a lot of relief. For some people, things like exercising or finding new hobbies can be helpful. Getting emotional encouragement by spending time with loved ones or joining a support group is also extremely useful. Though PTSD often makes people want to isolate themselves, maintaining a strong support system and staying engaged in daily life can be very useful.
Are you or a loved one struggling with PTSD symptoms? This condition can feel very isolating and exhausting, but it’s important to remember that you are not alone. Contact the National Depression Hotline to talk to an expert, and find a treatment program near you.
