Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter – Today, I am going to talk about something that is not talked about enough; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. For those of you who do not know, PTSD is defined by the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs as “a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood.” (“What is PTSD?”) B. Tie to the Audience – I am sure that there are a few people in this class that have had a family member or friend suffer from PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder abbreviated PTSD is a response to traumatic events in someone’s life. Traumatic events are events that provoke fear, helplessness or horror in response to a threat or extreme stressor (Yehuda, 2002). Soldiers and other military members are at a much higher risk to Post traumatic stress disorder due to combat and other stressful situations they are put into. People effected by Post-traumatic stress disorder will have symptoms including flashbacks, avoidance of things, people or places that remind them of the traumatic event. Also, hyper arousal which includes insomnia, irritability, impaired concentration and higher startle reactions. In this paper I will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, its signs, symptom and effects on culture as portrayed in the movie, American Sniper.

14-19 years --- They still have strong friendship with enjoyment and confidence. They behave with low-self esteem as smoking and misuse of substances.

It hits you like a freight train, or at least it did for me. I was thirteen when I stopped looking forward to things, and I swear it happened over night; like California in the summer, when everything seems okay and then you blink and it is all up in flames. I was thirteen years old when I came to terms with the fact that I no longer wanted to live.

“My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life.

The article relates to the wide range of situations that can cause PTSD and to how people need to direct their attention toward familiarizing themselves with the disorder's symptoms and seriousness before attempting to deal with it.

A. The problem here is that people are already burdened with an illness and on top of that, it is a long and painful process that they must endure.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental health condition that is generally classified as an anxiety disorder. It is often caused by a traumatic events or emotional trauma in one’s life that leads to terrifying flashbacks, nightmares and extreme anxiety. The main cause of this disorder is the conscious and subconscious fear-memories that have developed. In essence the ‘fight or flight” response that we all have is severely damaged, even when not in a stressful or dangerous situation those suffering from PTSD may feel stressed and in danger.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric sequel to a stressful event or situation of an exceptionally threatening or catastrophic nature. It develops after a person is involved in a horrifying ordeal that involved physical maltreatment or the threat of physical harm. These events can include combat or military experience, abuse during childhood or adulthood (physical or sexual), terrorist attacks, serious accidents or natural disasters. This person may have been the one that was harmed, witnessed a harmful event or had a loved one who was harmed. It is normal for the body’s fight or flight mechanism to engage in times of danger. With a person who has PTSD, that mechanism is damaged and the person feels this even when they are not in danger. Symptoms can be categorized into four different areas – re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts) , avoiding situations that remind the person of the event, negative changes in beliefs and feelings (may be fear, guilt, shame or losing interest in those activities that once were enjoyable) and hypervigilence (always feeling keyed up, trouble concentrating or sleeping). There are also feelings of hopelessness, despair, depression or anxiety, alcohol or substance abuse, physical symptoms or chronic pain and problems with employment and relationships.

12. This I can really relate to myself because I personally hate when people can't just be upfront with you. I respect Nick for telling her how it is.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options.

Working in the field of Emergency Response I have seen and felt first hand the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder. It is not possible to respond to emergency after emergency and not be subject to some of PTSD’s effects. When I saw this topic in the list I felt compelled to use this opportunity to learn more. My hope is by increasing my knowledge, of a disorder so prevalent in my career field; I can recognize the symptoms in others and myself before there effect becomes devastating.

A person’s age has nothing to do with maturity ; a person’s life is what shows maturity. For example, if a person has had a very

African Americans living in urban, low-income, impoverished environments are at high risk for exposure to traumatic events, and have a potential prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to previous and repeated trauma exposure.

A physical indicator of this type of symptom is nightmares in which the individual relives the event. Re-experiencing symptoms are often triggered by a sound, sight, or event that causes the individual to relive the initial trauma. For example, triggers might include a seemingly trivial occurrence such as hearing a car backfire which could resurface memories of gunfire for a combat war Veteran, or seeing a car accident which can remind a crash survivor of their own accident (Friedman, 2007). The second type of symptom frequently occurring in individuals with PTSD is avoiding situations that serve as a reminder of the initial event. Individuals with this symptom may choose to purposely avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the initial traumatic event (Friedman, 2007). For example, a person who underwent a devastating earthquake may avoid watching television shows or movies involving earthquakes. Also these individuals may simply attempt to stay extremely busy to avoid having to think or to talk about the traumatic event that occurred. The third type of symptom most often experienced by individuals is emotional numbness (Friedman, 2007). Often victims of PTSD find it difficult to accurately express their feelings. Consequently, not only is it easier for these individuals to avoid expressing their feelings, but it also allows them to avoid memories of the catalytic event. Individuals