b'|PTSDISTOCKPost-TraumaticTraumatic Stress Disorder, which seemed to be common to all veterans who were over-whelmed by horror and helplessness. The Stress Disorder: DSM definition of PTSD details a person who has been exposed to a horrendous event that involved actual or threatened death or injury or Victims of Horror, Abuse, and Hope threat to self or others. The resulting fear can result in flashbacks, nightmares, feeling of the for Recovery. By Kate Noonan event reoccurring, avoidance of people, places, and thoughts associated with the trauma, pos-P TSD can be a glimpse of a child whoing from automatic and hormonal responses,sible amnesia, insomnia, hyper-vigilance, and is beaten and told he is worthless. Thetend to remain hyper-vigilant, prepared to beirritability. fear of a teenager watching her fatherassaulted or violated at any time. Although the PTSD description was orig-slap her sobbing mother. A veteran viewinginally associated with veterans, researchers his comrade killed by an enemys weapon. AA HISTORY AND DEFINITION OF PTSD began to see similar diagnostic suffering in young woman restrained and brutally rapedVan der Kolk, a specialist in PTSD for overchildren and others with histories of abuse, by a seemingly quiet, polite first date. A wife of30 years, has explained that the Veteransneglect, abandonment, molestation, or the a United States President holding her husbandAssociation had a history of once label- viewing of a traumatic event. As clinicians as he dies from an assassins gunshots. ing veterans with a variety of disorders,studied findings, they saw patterns of a con-Physician Bessel van der Kolk (2014) hassuch as substance abuse, mood disorder,sistent profile of neurological dysregulation; expressed that PTSD results in trauma thator schizophrenia. Treatment could be aproblems with attention and concentration; reorganizes the way the mind and brain man- variety of medications, counseling, andand difficulties getting along with them-age perceptions. It changes not only how wehospitalizations.selves and others. Moods and feelings may think and what we think about, but also ourIn 1980, the American Psychiatricshift from panic to detachment to dissocia-ISTOCKvery capacity to think. Trauma victims, suffer- Association created the diagnosis Post- tion. A biological system that keeps pumping www.elitecme.com |2019| MENTAL HEALTH 11'