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Most of us build our lives around the belief that we
will be relatively safe. Granted, normal daily life
involves many stressors, especially in these hectic times, but we expect these pressures to happen and we
become accustomed to handling them. The more flexible
we are and the more we know ourselves and are in touch
with our abilities, the easier it is to deal with normal
everyday stress.
Sometimes, however, any of us could be subjected to
catastrophic stress. Our feeling of safety in these
circumstances can vanish. We could experience terror and a complete inability to know how to handle these
situations that are outside of the ordinary realm of experience. These catastrophic events can include rape, physical or sexual abuse, physical attack, mugging, car-jacking, natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados,
floods, etc.), fires, car accidents, plane crashes, hostage
situations, school shootings, military combat, or the sudden death of a loved one. It is not only the victims of
these events, but also witnesses, families of victims, and
helping professionals who can develop severe stress
symptoms which can last for months or even years after
the event.
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the term
used to characterize people who have endured highly stressful and frightening experiences and who
are undergoing distress caused by memories of that event.
It is as if the person just cannot let go of the experience.
The event comes back to haunt them. The anxiety experienced during or immediately after a catastrophic event is
called traumatic stress. When the symptoms last several
months after the event, it is called post-traumatic stress.
PTSD can last for years after the original trauma and may
not become evident initially. For example, an individual
may witness a murder as a child, but not experience the
associated stress until mid-life.
Some people are more likely to develop PTSD than
others. Experts are not sure why some people
develop PTSD after a relatively minor trauma
while others exposed to great trauma do not. Those who
are very young or very old are more vulnerable. PTSD
is also associated with intelligence (those with a higher
level of intelligence are less likely to suffer from
PTSD). Individuals who already suffer from anxiety disorders, some personality disorders or depression seem
more likely to get PTSD after extreme trauma. It seems
that the more vulnerable one feels in dealing with the
world, the more likely one is to develop PTSD.
(Continue...........)
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