Mental Health | Post Trauma Stress Disorder

Running head: POST TRAUMA STRESS
POST TRAUMA STRESS
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1POST TRAUMA STRESS
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is condition of mental health which is triggered
after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The symptoms of post trauma may include
nightmares, flashbacks or severe anxiety along with uncontrollable thoughts about that particular
event. This disorder compels the affected person to relive the terrifying moment again and again
which puts their mental sanity in extreme stress. Most of the people who suffer from this
disorder may have difficulty in adjusting or coping but that is usually a temporary phase and with
good care and time, the person gets better (Pruiksma et al., 2016). However, if the symptoms
stay more than few months or a year, chances are that it is PTSD, which would require effective
treatment; this treatment would help the person to have their symptoms reduced and improve
function (Jonas et al., 2013). There are four types of PTSD symptoms which are intrusive
memories, avoidance, changed in the emotional and physical reactions and finally negative
changes in the thinking and mood of the affected person.
Risk factor is something that enhances the likelihood of acquiring any disease or any
condition. It must be noted that it is not compulsory that every person who experience a
traumatic incident will have PTSD (Shalev, Liberazon & Marmar, 2017). The symptoms of
PTSD will likely to develop in adults who have some risk factors like any history of abuse, or
any kind of previous traumatic experience. If the affected person has a family history of
depression or PTSD, the chances of his/her having PTSD increases. Moreover, if the affected
person also has the history of substance abuse, or poor coping skills, lack of social support and is
in some ongoing stress, then he /she can very likely to have developed PTSD.
Previous traumatic experience increase the chance of development of PTSD in an
individual; for instance if any adult has experienced a trauma before such as rape, act of
violence, car accident or any such similar incidents, they are more susceptible to developing

2POST TRAUMA STRESS
PTSD. The stress that comes with a trauma usually has a cumulative effect and if that experience
is repeated in any form of trauma it can exacerbate the depressing effects which were induced
from the previous trauma (Le, Doctor, Zoellner & Feeny, 2014). This kind of risk factor is true
especially for those adults who had gone through early and long lasting childhood trauma. In
addition to this, adults with a history of being in an emotional, physical or sexual abuse also are
vulnerable to PTSD; they are more susceptible to develop PTSD symptoms since the history of
abuse already contributed to trauma and their effects are reinforced when such adult face any
new trauma. Apart from having an abusive past, if the adults belong from a family which have
known to have PTSD or depression, it makes that adult more susceptible to trauma regardless of
not having any type of traumatic history (Pacella, Hruska & Delahanty, 2013). In fact any kind
of mental health in the history of their family can increase the risk of developing PTSD in the
adult.
In case of the adults who have a history of substance abuse like disorder of alcohol usage
or drug use, have increasing tendency to be more susceptible to develop symptoms of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. This kind of history interferes with the adult’s capability to cope
when certain traumatic event is added in their mind. In relation to this, it must also be mentioned
that coping skills is also a vital factor in the mental stress caused by trauma. The level of
psychological functioning and their coping skills is significant to reduce the susceptibility
towards PTSD (Lanius et al., 2015). With poor skill of the ability to cope and low psychological
level of functioning, people find it extremely difficult to overcome from the trauma that they
have witnessed or experienced. A little sense of control helps the adult not to blame themselves
for the type of trauma that they are having and can control the circumstances that is putting stress
on their mental health.