A Comprehensive Essay on Post Trauma Stress: Risk Factors and Stages

This essay examines post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults, focusing on the identification of key risk factors that contribute to its development. It explores the three stages of trauma exposure: pre-trauma, peri-traumatic, and post-trauma, detailing how each stage influences the onset and progression of PTSD symptoms. The essay highlights that while not everyone exposed to trauma develops PTSD, certain factors increase the likelihood. These factors include previous traumatic experiences, family history of mental health issues, substance abuse, poor coping skills, and lack of social support. The pre-trauma stage impacts the ability to imagine a positive future, the peri-traumatic stage involves stress during the traumatic event, and the post-trauma stage leads to lasting psychological consequences. The essay also discusses how repeated exposure to trauma exacerbates symptoms and interferes with daily life, emphasizing the importance of recognizing symptoms and seeking professional help when needed. It concludes by stressing the need for social support and the negative impact of stigmatization on those affected by PTSD.

Running head: POST TRAUMA STRESS
POST TRAUMA STRESS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:

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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

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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.

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Social support is extremely helpful for adults who witnessed or experienced trauma on a
first hand. There has considerable amount of research that has suggested that positive
relationship with family and society can be extremely helpful to reduce the effect of trauma and
stress. Adults who do not have supportive relationships and environments have the tendency to
feel more stressed and vulnerable and hence they are more at risk of development of the
symptom of PTSD. If a society produces the feeling of guilt, shame, self –hatred or
stigmatization for the affected person instead of showing support or sympathy, it tends to
increase the risk of the adult falling into PTSD (Hamblen & Barnett, 2016). Moreover, if the
adult is already going through some kind of severe stress before hand, it can result in extensive
psychological problems and physical problems as well.
There are three stages of trauma exposure which are known as the pre –trauma, peri –
trauma and finally post –trauma. Pre traumatic stress disorder comes right before the PTSD starts
to arrive in the mind of the adults. The Pre-traumatic Stress Disorder has a certain impact on the
human imagination, especially on its ability to imagine the future in positive ways (Wolf,
Lunney & Schnurr, 2015). The Pre-traumatic Stress Disorder cannot exactly be termed as a
disorder; instead it is a condition that gradually develops into PTSD. It is a phenomenon whose
symptoms are similar to that of the symptoms of PTSD, such as both the condition makes the
person feel grief, sadness, disturbing and intrusive thoughts, worry, nightmares and sleep
troubles and both the disorders compels the affected adult to avoid the activities which reminds
them of the stressful event that led to such a condition (Watts et al., 2013). Pre traumatic stress
can result from minor issues like imagining someone to be hurt and not surviving, reading the
headlines; in fact pre-traumatic stress in just like any other stress but it is worsened by a feeling
of powerlessness. When this chronic stress sends continuous messages to the brain that they are

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not safe and results in continuous hovering of stress hormones, it becomes a health issue and
results in PTSD.
Peri-traumatic stress is a kind of stress that occurs during the experience of trauma in a
person. According to numerous numbers of researches, an association of peri traumatic
dissociation has been identified with post traumatic stress disorder. It has also been notices that
the adults who have high Peri-traumatic dissociation had high chances of acquiring PTSD;
however, Peri-traumatic dissociation or PD has the capability to predict the difference with
which PTSD can affect individuals. For instance, adults who have been through physically
abused and are also less educated are more prone to peri-traumatic stress than those who have
high education (Bisson et al., 2013). PTSD also depends on the gender and the level of education
of the individual; studies have shown that the primary victims of PTSD are those who have high
level of PD, low level of education and women.
The consequences that occur post the trauma or any traumatic event and stay more than
few months leads to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Hoge et al., 2014). Not all of the adults who
experience trauma have PTSD; there are certain risk factors that predict whether or not the
particular person will have PTSD. Adults who have experienced trauma and are unable to cope
with the distress prefer to avoid any kind of distress at any cost. Reliving the same kind of
circumstance, or exposure to post trauma leads to exacerbation of the symptoms of PTSD; in the
future it leads to self-injury, major depression, borderline personality disorder and even suicidal
thoughts (Yehuda et al., 2015). The exposure to post trauma not only interferes with the mind,
but it also interferes in the adult’s ability to move on about their normal life. Continuous
exposure to post trauma leads to the intensification of the symptoms of PTSD; the negative
changes in thinking and mood of the victim worsens and develops into much severe thoughts like

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negative changes in their thinking about themselves and all the people around them; difficulty in
maintaining any of relationship; trouble in having good memory that most importantly includes
not being able to remember some vital aspects of the traumatic event. Exposure to post trauma
develops the symptom of PTSD like the feeling of loneliness and feeling detached from friends
and family; basically the victim overall starts to feel numb after being in exposure to post trauma
for a long time. He fails to fathom any positivity around him/her, about him/her or about the
world.
If the victim’s symptoms of PTSD intensify over time and if the feelings exist for more
than a month, it is highly advisable to consult a doctor. It would help the victim if he/she talks
with a mental health professional or to their close friends and family. It is also advised to the
onlookers that if they see any close friend or family member to have the symptoms of PTSD or
even have suicidal thoughts due to long suffering from PTSD, they should talk with them and
provide them the required support or even take them to a mental health professional.

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