What is PTSD?
What is PTSD?Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental health condition that is triggered by a traumaticevent.“I think most people associate PTSD with being part of the military. However, most people that havePTSD were not involved in war.” “It’s physical assaults. It’s sexual assaults.”-Chad Wetterneck, PhD,Clinical Psychologist“Every relationship you’re in after, you believe that that’s the way that people love each other. Youbelieve that love and violence go together so you’re always on guard. You’re always expecting to behurt.”-Carmen Pitre, Victims’ Rights AdvocatePTSD can also occur when you witness trauma happening to someone else.“Think about a lot of the professions that deal with the aftermath of accidents our EMTs, our policeofficers, our firefighters.”- Chad Wetterneck, PhD, Clinical PsychologistSymptoms usually appear within one month of a traumatic event and need to last for at least a month tobe diagnosed with PTSD. Sometimes, though, the symptoms don’t show up for years. Dana was sexuallyassaulted in high school. It took her years to realize how the attack impacted her life.“It took me a long time to sort of connect the dots of that experience having such an impact on thechoices I made and the emotions.”-Dana, PatientSymptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are grouped into categories. They include intrusiveexperiences, which may be in the form of memories, thoughts, nightmares, or unpleasant emotions aboutthe traumatic event. Another category is avoidance.“People are trying to do whatever they can to not think about the event. And they tend to avoid theplaces or people or even sometimes objects that remind them of these things.”- Chad Wetterneck,PhD, Clinical PsychologistStill other symptoms negative changes in thinking and mood. These could be negative thoughts aboutyourself and others, feelings of hopelessness for the future and feeling detached from loved ones. Andlastly changes in physical and emotional reactions.“People feel more on edge. People are looking over their shoulder more often. We call it hypervigilance but it’s really feeling like something bad could happen at any time and then their body isresponding that way.”- Chad Wetterneck, PhD, Clinical PsychologistPage 1 of 2This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG5317398 EN WhatIsPTSD.pdf© The Wellness NetworkWhat is PTSD?Jason Lowman is an Army veteran who experienced PTSD symptoms. He was hurt during a trainingexercise before heading to Iraq. The injury got worse overseas and he eventually was brought home.“It was not something I ever really wanted to pursue or even admit that there was something thatwas wrong.”-Jason, PatientJason’s defenses were up, and his family noticed changes.“I found myself driving down the road, driving faster than I normally would and constantly lookingon the sides of the roads and being really aggressive towards other drivers.”-Jason, PatientJason was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a diagnosis hard for him tohandle.“Kind of heartbreaking because you never want to be the one. You know you’re always thinking it’snot going to happen to me or whatever, or that sort of thing only happens to people that aren’t cutout for this sort of work.”-Jason, PatientTreatment was the next step for Jason and Dana. While post-traumatic stress disorder is chronic, itcannot be cured – it can be managed through therapy and medications. Through therapy, Dana wasable to realize the effect trauma had on her life.“The more that I sort of dug into those shadows and just opened up and threw light on myexperience and my feelings, and my experience of my experience, that’s the thing that helped themost for me.”-Dana, PatientTherapy worked for Jason, as well.“What my therapist did for me was help me find something else to focus on.”-Jason, PatientJason found his focus in building and playing guitars with a group of other veterans. It relieves hisanxiety. Dana never misses sessions with her therapist.“I can’t imagine not doing it. It would be like not breathing.”-Dana, PatientIf you or someone you know may be suffering from PTSD, there is help available. Talk to yourhealthcare team to create a treatment plan that will help you manage your post-traumatic stressdisorder.Page 2 of 2This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG5317398 EN WhatIsPTSD.pdf© The Wellness Network
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