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sisters4life
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The first set of symptoms in the diagnosis of PTSD addresses exposure to a traumatic event. Exposure in this case relates to having witnessed or been confronted with an event, either natural (such as a flood or hurricane) or man-made (such as rape, war, physical, or sexual assault), in which one is actually injured or threatened with injury or death. These traumatic events cause the victim to experience an intense response, such as paralyzing fear, terror, or helplessness. The next set of symptoms addresses the persistent re-experiencing of the trauma in the form of nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, intrusive thoughts, becoming panicky and shaky when thinking of the trauma, and becoming upset around the anniversary of the event. Understandably, re-experiencing is oftenterribly confusing and distressing. Flashbacks,are particularly terrifying to a trauma victim. They strike suddenly and are extremely emotional events in themselves. One doesn’t black out but there is a feeling of having left oneself temporarily, causing a sort of numbing effect. Flashbacks can be so vivid that one can smell or see or feel the event happening to them again. Individuals experience different triggers for these flashbacks and other forms of re-experiencing, but these symptoms are often what convince them of the need to seek help. The re-experiencing of feelings, such as fear, shame, and guilt, among others, leads to avoidance of the pain of re-experiencing the trauma and, as a result, leads to a greater need for help. Avoidance can take many forms, such as not wanting to talk or think about the trauma and avoiding certain places or activities in order not to be reminded of the trauma. |
