How many of us suffer from PTSD? (pls read article first)

[TendrTummy]

Hi again all,

I'm continuing my research and finding new things, and I have another poll for you.. Please read over the below article when you have time, and search within yourself to see if you can relate. I'm interested to know how many of us suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Thanks!

What is PTSD?


It is common for people to feel that no matter what they’ve faced or lived with, no matter how extreme, they should be able to carry on. But sometimes people face situations that are so traumatic that they may become unable to cope and function in their daily lives. Some people become so distressed by memories of the trauma – memories that won’t go away – that they begin to live their lives trying to avoid any reminders of what happened to them.

A person who feels this way months after a traumatic experience has passed may be suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a serious and common health condition. For these people, getting beyond the trauma and overcoming PTSD requires the help of a professional.

PTSD may develop following exposure to extreme trauma.
Extreme trauma is a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is life-threatening or causes physical harm. It can be a single event or repeated experience.
The experience causes that person to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness.

The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Research suggests that prolonged trauma may disrupt and alter brain chemistry. For some people, this may lead to the development of PTSD.


Statistics


An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives, and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

An estimated 5 percent of Americans – more than 13 million people – have PTSD at any given time.

Approximately 8 percent of all adults – one of 13 people in this country – will develop PTSD during their lifetime.

An estimated one out of 10 women will get PTSD at some time in their lives.

Women are about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. This may be due to the fact that women tend to experience interpersonal violence (such as domestic violence, rape or abuse) more often than men.

Almost 17 percent of men and 13 percent of women have experienced more than three traumatic events in their lives.

The estimated risk for developing PTSD for people who have experienced the following traumatic events is:

- Rape (49 percent)
- Severe beating or physical assault (31.9 percent)
- Other sexual assault (23.7 percent)
- Serious accident or injury; for example, car or train accident (16.8 percent)
- Shooting or stabbing (15.4 percent)
- Sudden, unexpected death of family member or friend (14.3 percent)
- Child’s life-threatening illness (10.4 percent)
- Witness to killing or serious injury (7.3 percent)
- Natural disaster (3.8 percent)


Myths about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder


PTSD is a complex disorder that often is misunderstood. Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop PTSD, but many people do.



MYTH: PTSD only affects war veterans.

FACT: Although PTSD does affect war veterans, PTSD can affect anyone. Almost 70 percent of Americans will be exposed to a traumatic event in their lifetime. Of those people, up to 20 percent will go on to develop PTSD. An estimated one out of 10 women will develop PTSD at sometime in their lives.

Victims of trauma related to physical and sexual assault face the greatest risk of developing PTSD. Women are about twice as likely to develop PTSD as men, perhaps because women are more likely to experience trauma that involves these types of interpersonal violence, including rape and severe beatings. Victims of domestic violence and childhood abuse also are at tremendous risk for PTSD.



MYTH: People should be able to move on with their lives after a traumatic event. Those who can’t cope are weak.

FACT: Many people who experience an extremely traumatic event go through an adjustment period following the experience. Most of these people are able to return to leading a normal life. However, the stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including mental, emotional and physical well-being. Research suggests that prolonged trauma may disrupt and alter brain chemistry. For some people, a traumatic event changes their views about themselves and the world around them. This may lead to the development of PTSD.



MYTH: People suffer from PTSD right after they experience a traumatic event.

FACT: PTSD symptoms usually develop within the first three months after trauma but may not appear until months or years have passed. These symptoms may continue for years following the trauma or, in some cases, symptoms may subside and reoccur later in life, which often is the case with victims of childhood abuse.

Some people don't recognize that they have PTSD because they may not associate their current symptoms with past trauma. In domestic violence situations, the victim may not realize that their prolonged, constant exposure to abuse puts them at risk.




What are the symptoms of PTSD?

People respond in different ways to extreme trauma. Many people who experience extreme trauma do not develop PTSD. However, for those who do, PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, but some people don’t experience symptoms until months or even years later.

Three categories – or "clusters" – of symptoms are associated with PTSD.


Clusters


Re-living the event through recurring nightmares or other intrusive images that occur at any time. People who suffer from PTSD also have extreme emotional or physical reactions such as chills, heart palpitations or panic when faced with reminders of the event.


Avoiding reminders of the event, including places, people, thoughts or other activities associated with the trauma. PTSD sufferers may feel emotionally detached, withdraw from friends and family, and lose interest in everyday activities.


Being on guard or being hyper-aroused at all times, including feeling irritability or sudden anger, having difficulty sleeping or concentrating, or being overly alert or easily startled.

People with PTSD may have low self-esteem or relationship problems or may seem disconnected from their lives. Other problems that may mask or intensify symptoms include:

Psychiatric problems such as depression, dissociation (losing conscious awareness of the “here and now”) or another anxiety disorder like panic disorder.


Self-destructive behavior including:

- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Suicidal impulses
- High-risk sexual behaviors that may result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV
- Other high-risk behavior that may be life-endangering, such as fast or reckless driving

Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression, including:

- Chronic pain with no medical basis (frequently gynecological problems in women)
- Stress-related conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia
- Stomach pain or other digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation
- Eating disorders
- Breathing problems or asthma
- Headaches
- Muscle cramps or aches such as low back pain
- Cardiovascular problems
- Sleep disorders


How is PTSD diagnosed?

A diagnosis of PTSD may be considered if a certain number of symptoms from each of the three “clusters” have lasted for one month or more and if they cause severe problems or distress at home or at work or, in general, affect daily life.

PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, but some people don’t experience symptoms until months, even years, later.

PTSD can last six months for some people while others may experience symptoms for much longer. Again, it is important to understand that people respond differently to trauma. Some people will have a few problems, and these problems may go away without treatment. Others will need support and some kind of treatment before they can move forward with their lives.


Why is it hard to diagnose?

The most critical steps in treating PTSD often are the most difficult — recognizing the problem and getting help. There are many reasons why this can be hard to do:



- People who have experienced an extreme traumatic event may hope, or even expect, to be able to “handle it” and “get over it” on their own.
- Sometimes people feel guilty about what happened and may mistakenly believe they are to blame or deserve the hurt and pain. Sometimes the experience may be too personal, painful or embarrassing to discuss.
- Some people avoid dealing with anything related to the trauma, especially as they try to get back to the “normal” activities of their daily lives.
- PTSD can make a person feel isolated or alone, making it difficult to reach out for help.
- People with PTSD don’t always make the connection between the traumatic event and the emotional emptiness, anger, anxiety and sometimes physical symptoms they unexpectedly find themselves feeling months, even years, after the trauma.
- Sometimes people don’t know that help is available or don’t know where to turn for help.

If you or someone you care about has PTSD, you need to know that help is available. PTSD is treatable.


How is PTSD treated?

There are a number of effective treatment options for PTSD. Treatment can involve psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both.

Psychotherapy – Psychotherapeutic or counseling methods such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), including exposure and anxiety management treatments, are effective in treating PTSD. Effective psychotherapy usually involves helping the survivor learn skills to manage symptoms and to develop ways of coping; work through the traumatic experience; and make meaning of the experience as a part of the person's life.

Medication – Prescription medication is effective in treating PTSD. For some people, medication can significantly reduce symptoms, enhance the effectiveness of psychotherapy and improve quality of life. Those diagnosed with PTSD should talk with their healthcare provider about the use of medication as a part of their treatment regimen.

[tex]

Hi Christine,

I changed the first line of your poll options to sorta match the form of the second one, because I wasn't sure which one to select, the way it was written. I was pretty sure that this was what you intended. If I'm wrong, and you prefer your original version, please let me know, and I'll change it back.

Tex

[Sally]

Damn, I was writing you a wonderful, intelligent, coherent, and not to mention provocative letter about all of this and I lost it. Now I DO have PTSD!!!

I answered "not sure" to your question because my trauma was my whole childhood. Living with two alcoholics has left me scarred, certainly, but I don't know if I qualify under the definition of PTSD. I AM depressed, that I do know.

Thanks for these questions, Christine. It is again comforting to me to know that I am not alone in all of this.

Lots of love,

Sally

[TendrTummy]

Hi Wayne,

NO problem :) it was late, I was frustrated w/work stuff and I probably worded it strangely LOL nothing new!!!!!! :)

Sally,

YES, you do have PTSD, IMHO. I have been raped as a teen, molested as a child, but I consider what my mother did to me (verbal/emotional abuse) to be the cause of most of my issues today.

Anything that traumatized you enough to cause you to act differently, think differently, would be considered PTSD. For example, I'm depressed, and have low seratonin levels but have not been entirely successful on meds, because I have issues to work out. The reason for my depression is that any time something happens, I blame myself. Anytime I make a small mistake, I dwell on it and punish myself for days/weeks/months, depending on what it is. This is because of my mother's voice in my head. Most people have that voice of reason that tells them comforting things; mine tells me I'm worthless, dumb, lazy, insignificant, whiny, etc.... you get the idea. So that depresses me.

Anyway, just trying to show you the correlation there. She traumatized me and I have to live with the repercussions every day. Because of the things she did, I avoid doing certain things, which is all a part of the above symptoms. Not to mention the physical ailments. That portion really hit home.

Anyway, hope this helps!

Christine

[Jean]

Christine,

I have no doubt that PTSD is real. What I question is this part of the article:

Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression, including:

- Chronic pain with no medical basis (frequently gynecological problems in women)
- Stress-related conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia
- Stomach pain or other digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation
- Eating disorders
- Breathing problems or asthma
- Headaches
- Muscle cramps or aches such as low back pain
- Cardiovascular problems
- Sleep disorders

In no way do I think that our disease, or any other autoimmune disease, is caused by PTSD the way it is implied here.

Thought I'd add my two cents. Love, Jean

[kate_ce1995]

Chronic pain with no medical basis (frequently gynecological problems in women)

I'm with you Jean. This is the one that jumped out an made me mad! (Obviously not at you Christine). The things we put up with. Its like when I was diagnosed with anxiety. Do I think it was anxiety? Yes. But only because I was coping with a very real illness that no one recognized until after I had surgery and they said "no wonder you feel like crap!" I started thinking I was crazy. GRRR.

Sorry, bit of a nerve there.

Katy

[Matthew]

For anyone living in the stultifying fear of the past or the agony of what the future may bring I highly recommend reading “The Power Of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. In fact if neither one of the above is a problem, as was my case, I would still recommend reading it. We are not our mind. Now, the present moment , is where we find our joy and are able to embrace our true selves and discover we are already complete.

Yes, it takes some work to read and understand this book but IMHO we would live in a different world Politically, Economically, Spiritually and Globally if the concepts in this book were more widely understood.

Love

Matthew

[TendrTummy]

Jean and Katy,

While I agree that what we have is a medical condition with actual symptoms, what I translated the article to implying is that part of the reason we have many medical issues is that our emotional stress has taken a toll on our physical condition. Meaning, when we hold all of this stress inside, it has to go somewhere. It manifests itself into physical conditions and I'm not saying they're "in our head" as so many doctors have suggested. I think it means they're partially caused BY what's in our heads.

But.. I see what you're saying. When I was in the ER and they kept asking me if I'd been abused in the past, I was outraged. I was offended. When I was at the last gastro's appointment and he told me I was mad and I should "do some soul searching" I was appalled. But.. when I did some soul searching, on my own terms, I found connections from my emotional state to my physical state that could not really be explained otherwise.

Of course, we are not all the same here. Some of us are well-balanced emotionally and just have straightforward colitis. Others, like myself, have emotional turmoil and have many conditions that are unexplained in addition to the colitis. I just wanted to plant this seed in everyone's brain, and see if I could tell anything from the poll numbers.

Matthew, I'll add that book to my list. Thanks :)

Christine