The full form of PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a disorder that develops in an individual after a traumatic event in their life. These incidents can be any sexual harassment, any childhood abuse that can leave an impact for a long time, the death of a loved one that makes a person stressed and even depressed or any incident that can cause physical and mental stress.
History
The term "post-traumatic stress disorder" was first suggested in early 1978. In 1980, the condition was described as "post-traumatic stress disorder". Later in ICD-10, the spelling was corrected to "post-traumatic stress disorder".
Symptoms of PTSD
Symptoms of PTSD begin to develop within 2 months of the incident, but in some cases it may take many years to develop. Symptoms persist depending on the severity of the stressful incident. Some of the symptoms include:
- Few people experience life in flashback, they may also have hallucinations and frequent nightmares.
- The person avoids visiting the place where the incident happened and usually describes the place as haunted.
- A person suffering from this disorder usually either has low concentration or concentrates too much on a certain thing.
- Patients often have high irritability and panic.
- They may also suffer from increased muscle tension and nausea during times of stress.
- Patients are often victims of negative thoughts.
- Children with PTSD may have delayed milestones that affect even speech and show slow development in learning some everyday tasks.
- Patients show an attitude of detachment from close family and friends.
- There are numerous emotional changes in a person who are either upset or scared for small reasons.
Therapy
- A treatment protocol varies from counseling the patient to prescribing medication or both, which is called psychotherapy.
- Antidepressants are prescribed to suppress the excessive thoughts that the patient suffers from and to reduce the feeling of anxiety. Some of the antidepressants include citalopram, escitalopram, vilazodone, amitriptyline. Mood stabilizers such as asenapine, carbamazepine, etc. are also prescribed. If the condition worsens, antipsychotics such as risperidone, clozapine are considered. However, some health professionals discourage the use of tranquilizers because there is a chance that the patient could become addicted to them.