It had over eighty names throughout history. In 1678, it was called nostalgia when soldiers became restless, sad, solitary, talked to themselves and stopped paying attention. It was again baptised as homesickness and irritable heart. Then it became neurasthenia and hysteria, defined in 1890. But the common denominator of all these terms is that it described the long term effects of trauma, whether it was because a person saw the violence of war or because a person became a victim of a terrible crime, among others.
When the official term for long term trauma entered the vocabulary in 1980, so did the many interventions designed to manage the condition. In recent years, telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder is used to bridge connections and treat hard to reach patients and contact further support. But let us take a look at the syndrome itself in order to understand and to determine whether someone we know needs help.
A person who is at risk for PTSD is defined under a certain criteria. Factors include getting hurt or seeing people getting hurt or killed, surviving a dangerous or traumatic event, feelings of extreme fear and helplessness, a history of mental illness, and having little or no support socially after experiencing the trauma. Resiliency factors, on the other hand, include being able to find social support, maintaining a coping strategy, capacity to respond effectively in times of crisis in spite of fear, and feeling good about his behavior when faced with harm.
As the psychological well being of a person is innate as much as it is environmental, genes play a crucial role in determining if an individual is at risk. Stathmin is a protein found in our genes that elicits the making of fear memories. Researchers have also found out that a version of the 5 HTTLPR gene control the production of serotonin, the hormone that fuels the fear response.
The amygdala is responsible for emotion, memory, and learning, and it has been found to be the active brain area in the acquisition of fear. Decision making, judgment, and problem solving are all in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This implies that taking studying the differences of these areas and the genes between people may help prevent the syndrome long before it will be triggered or developed, especially if there was a history of childhood trauma, mental illness, and head injury.
A set of one reexperiencing symptom plus two hyperarousal symptoms and three avoidance symptoms are the constituents for a diagnosis. Often, mundane objects, words, and circumstances can kickstart the reexperiencing process. Reexperiencing includes flashbacks, bad dreams, and fearful thoughts that could modify the lifestyle of the victim.
Becoming detached to the things a person is previously attached to is a sign of avoidance. The patient may also repress the memory and would have trouble remembering the event. Avoiding anything that will remind them of the trauma, indifference, guilt, anxiety, and depression, are also avoidance signs.
Hyperarousal symptoms consist of always feeling on the edge, tension, being surprised or startled easily, experiencing outbursts, and insomnia. These are constant symptoms and do not need triggers to happen. A person with PTSD may have trouble accomplishing daily tasks such as sleeping, concentrating, and even eating. Because these signs are normal after a tragic event, they can be called acute stress disorder rather than PTSD.
Psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy are used to treat patients with post traumatic stress disorder. Approved medications include sertraline and paroxetine. Critical incident stress debriefing is applied right after mass tragedies in order to prevent the syndrome as early as possible.
When the official term for long term trauma entered the vocabulary in 1980, so did the many interventions designed to manage the condition. In recent years, telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder is used to bridge connections and treat hard to reach patients and contact further support. But let us take a look at the syndrome itself in order to understand and to determine whether someone we know needs help.
A person who is at risk for PTSD is defined under a certain criteria. Factors include getting hurt or seeing people getting hurt or killed, surviving a dangerous or traumatic event, feelings of extreme fear and helplessness, a history of mental illness, and having little or no support socially after experiencing the trauma. Resiliency factors, on the other hand, include being able to find social support, maintaining a coping strategy, capacity to respond effectively in times of crisis in spite of fear, and feeling good about his behavior when faced with harm.
As the psychological well being of a person is innate as much as it is environmental, genes play a crucial role in determining if an individual is at risk. Stathmin is a protein found in our genes that elicits the making of fear memories. Researchers have also found out that a version of the 5 HTTLPR gene control the production of serotonin, the hormone that fuels the fear response.
The amygdala is responsible for emotion, memory, and learning, and it has been found to be the active brain area in the acquisition of fear. Decision making, judgment, and problem solving are all in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This implies that taking studying the differences of these areas and the genes between people may help prevent the syndrome long before it will be triggered or developed, especially if there was a history of childhood trauma, mental illness, and head injury.
A set of one reexperiencing symptom plus two hyperarousal symptoms and three avoidance symptoms are the constituents for a diagnosis. Often, mundane objects, words, and circumstances can kickstart the reexperiencing process. Reexperiencing includes flashbacks, bad dreams, and fearful thoughts that could modify the lifestyle of the victim.
Becoming detached to the things a person is previously attached to is a sign of avoidance. The patient may also repress the memory and would have trouble remembering the event. Avoiding anything that will remind them of the trauma, indifference, guilt, anxiety, and depression, are also avoidance signs.
Hyperarousal symptoms consist of always feeling on the edge, tension, being surprised or startled easily, experiencing outbursts, and insomnia. These are constant symptoms and do not need triggers to happen. A person with PTSD may have trouble accomplishing daily tasks such as sleeping, concentrating, and even eating. Because these signs are normal after a tragic event, they can be called acute stress disorder rather than PTSD.
Psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy are used to treat patients with post traumatic stress disorder. Approved medications include sertraline and paroxetine. Critical incident stress debriefing is applied right after mass tragedies in order to prevent the syndrome as early as possible.
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Read more about Signs Someone Needs Telepsychiatry For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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