PSTD Awareness

A person who has experienced an extreme trauma may be diagnosed with PTSD if he or she has a certain number of symptoms from each of three symptom groups:

• re-experiencing,
• avoidance/numbing,
• hyper arousal.

These symptoms must last for more than 1 month and must cause severe problems or distress in personal life, work life, or other important areas of daily living.

Re-Experiencing — One Or More Of The Following:

• Frequent, sudden, and upsetting memories about the event, including certain images and thoughts about the event
• Repeated distressing dreams about the event.
• Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were happening again (includes reliving, such as having flashbacks about the event)
• Strong mental and emotional pain when seeing people, places, or other reminders of the event.
• Physical reactions (such as shakiness, chills, heart beating fast) when seeing people, places, or other reminders of the event.

Avoidance And Numbing — Three Or More Of The Following:

• Making efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations about the event.
• Making efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that are reminders of the event.
• Not being able to remember important details about the event.
• No longer enjoying or taking part in activities once enjoyed.
• Feeling detached or removed from family and friends.
• Having feelings of emotional numbness that others may notice.
• Believing that certain important life goals (such as marriage, parenthood, or growing older) will not be fulfilled.

Hyperarousal — Two Or More Of The Following:

• Problems falling asleep or staying asleep.
• Angry outbursts or being irritable.
• Problems concentrating.
• Feeling “overly alert”.
• Being “overly startled”.
• Appearance of PTSD Symptoms.
• Symptoms of PTSD usually start to appear within several weeks of the traumatic event.
• However, some people may not have any symptoms for months or years after the traumatic event.

PTSD — And The Possibility Of Other Conditions

Sometimes people with PTSD also may have another medical condition, such as:

• Another anxiety disorder.
• Major depression.
• Also, people with PTSD may try to numb their feelings by “self-medicating” with alcohol and/or drugs.
• In addition, some people with PTSD have physical complaints along with PTSD symptoms.

These People Often Go To Their Doctors Seeking Treatment For These Symptoms, Which May Include:

• Stomach pains; alternating constipation/diarrhea.
• Respiratory problems.
• Headaches.
• Muscle cramps or aches.
• Low back pain.
• Cardiovascular problems.

If you have one or more of these conditions, along with the symptoms of PTSD discussed earlier, be sure to talk to a healthcare professional. Only a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional can evaluate your overall condition to determine whether you have a medical disorder and to make a diagnosis of PTSD.