Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: causes and symptoms
This brief document aims to briefly explain the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder .
Also, to show how professionals of psychology help refugees in countries that do not offer guarantees for an effective psychological treatment.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: a reality in today's world
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (it is usually called PTSD for short) is a disorder that is classified within anxiety disorders. It is originated by a exposure to some situation of extreme anxiety , such as a violation, kidnappings, wars, accidents, etc.
Post-traumatic stress is not subject to any a priori defined experience, there is a great variety of events that can change the life depending on each case.
Types of PTSD
According to Azcárate Mengual (2007) there are 3 types of PTSD:
- Acute PTSD: The symptoms last less than 3 months.
- Chronic PTSD : Symptoms last 3 months or more.
- Delayed onset PTSD : Symptoms appear 6 months or more after the traumatic event.
In some cases, PTSD clearly recalls traumatic experiences accompanied by high degrees of anxiety (which include fear, anguish, nervousness, etc.). All this generates in the person an extreme emotional exhaustion that also is usually accompanied by irrational thoughts and ideas .
Diagnosis of PTSD
For a correct post-traumatic stress evaluation First, one must have a thorough knowledge of the factors involved in the genesis and development of the problem. Points to consider and consider are:
- Background.
- The triggers
- The maintenance factors.
- The possible solutions, etc.
A clinic history complete of the patient, the professional follow-up and the family accompaniment appropriate will go a long way in the rehabilitation of the patient.
Treatment
Each person is a different bio-psycho-social entity, and therefore the treatment in these types of disorders will be very varied, since we must analyze the emotional and psychological impact of the subject who has experienced such an event and see how it develops afterwards. of this to propose what kind of treatment is effective and may help in emotional and psychological regulation of the person.
Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies have been and are the most used in almost all anxiety disorders, since post-traumatic stress is a subtype of them. This technique is one of the most effective and the best results they bring.
However, there are specific techniques that are also effective, such as the one already known Desensitization and Reprocessing by the Movement of the Eyes (or EMDR , by Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). The EMDR is based on the assumption that the anxiety is due to the fact that the search about the traumatic event remains or has remained unprocessed, which results in keeping blocked the cognitions, behaviors and feelings about the event experienced some time ago.
In cognitive psychotherapies, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy or TREC It is one of the most used techniques. The TREC advocates a deep philosophical change in the patient, [briefly explain what each new technique that is presented] and has also been characterized by the in-depth investigation of anxiety disorders and the effectiveness of their techniques in these problems.
The pharmacological therapies , as always, they are very useful. These must be prescribed by a psychiatrist that indicates the medication, the dose and the time the person will remain in said treatment.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in hostile territory
Although many of us do not live in a hostile environment, at any moment we can get to live a situation that could trigger an emotional psychological alteration, and that will require a mental health professional. However, today in some countries of the world a large part of the population suffers from post-traumatic stress caused by the wars that have been dragging through the area for years.
Among them Ukraine and Syria, the latter country that has been hard hit by the war and everything that has been unleashed with the passage of time. Since peace is still far from being reached, there are many professionals, both doctors and mental health professionals who are still working to help a panicked population with a high rate of PTSD, around 60% of the population. Syria suffers from post-traumatic stress and the figures could rise to 85% if the conflict continues.
There is a group of mental health professionals in charge of help the most vulnerable part of the population , like children. The known techniques used by these professionals are the projectives. In turn, it is important to highlight how the drawings of Syrian children express the reality and cruelty in which they live submerged.Their fears, anxieties and fears are also reflected, and are in themselves an illustration of the ways in which PTSD can crystallize through forms of creative expression . Complement to these works some alternative techniques to the psychological ones such as dance, singing, etc. These are part of a therapeutic program that could help hundreds of children improve their emotional well-being.
Bibliographic references:
- Azcárate Mengual, M. A. (2007). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Brain Injury. Madrid: Diaz de Santos.
- Horse, V. (2010). Behavior modification manual. Guayaquil: University of Guayaquil.
- International Classification of Diseases, tenth version.
