Traumatic Stress
Agnė Bružaitė
Psbd8-01
Content
• Causes;• Traumatic events;• Reactions to traumatic events;• Acute stress disorder (ASD);• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);• Trauma in childhood;• How to cope;• Treatment.
Traumatic events
• Traumatic events are shocking and emotionally overwhelming situations.
• These events might involve actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual or other physical assault.
Traumatic events
One-time occurrences:• Natural disasters;• House fire;• Violent crime;• Airplane accident;
• Enduring physical, sexual, emotional, or other forms of abuse.
Ongoing, repeated:• Combat or war;• Child abuse;• Neglect;• Domestic violence;
Reactions to traumatic events
• Anxiety;• Shock;• Personal or social
disconnection;• Confusion, fear,
hopelessness;• Helplessness,
sleeplessness, physical pain.
Reactions to traumatic events
• Grief, anger;• Aggressiveness;• Mistrustfulness;• Guilt, shame;• Shaken religious faith;• Loss of confidence in
self or others.
Reactions to traumatic events
• Loss of memory;
• Physical and psychological flashbacks;
• Sometimes a smaller hippocampus;
• Physical disorders;
Reactions to traumatic events
• Nightmares;
• Sleep disturbance;
• Depression;
Acute stress disorder (ASD)
ASD describes experiences of:
• Dissociation (e.g., feelings of unreality or disconnection);
• Intrusive thoughts and images;
Acute stress disorder (ASD)
• Efforts to avoid reminders of the traumatic experiences;
• Symptoms persist from two days to four weeks.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• When experiences that were mentioned before last more than a month;
• Post-traumatic stress disorder was first recognised as 'shell shock' in veterans of the First World War;
• Statistics: 7%-8% of people in the United
States will likely develop PTSD in their lifetime;
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD;
• Pregnant women who have PTSD may influence their children.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• A person can recovery within 6 months or the symptoms can last much longer and become a chronic condition;
• The symptoms may be worse if the trauma was initiated by another person such as a kidnapping, rape or torture.
Signs of PTSD
• People tend to avoid places, people, or other things that remind them of the event (may develop to phobia);
• Recurring nightmares;
Signs of PTSD
• Chronic physical hyper arousal;
• Lack of interest in activities that used to be enjoyed;
Trauma in childhood
Person who was traumatized in childhood may suffer:
• Revictimization (being harmed again);
• Aggression;
• Identity disturbance;
Trauma in childhood
• Bodily problems without detectable physical cause;
• Relationship problems.
Helping yourself
• Stay connected to natural support systems;
• Taking care of basic needs;
• Keeping to routines and activities;
• Finding ways to assist someone else.
Psychological First Aid
• Psychological first aid creates and sustains an environment of:
1. Safety;
2. Calming;
3. Connectedness to others;
4. Self-efficacy or empowerment;
5. Hopefulness.
What you should DO:
• Do help people meet basic needs for food and shelter, and obtain emergency medical attention (safety);
What you should DO:
• Do listen to people who wish to share their stories and emotions and remember there is no wrong or right way to feel (calming);
What you should DO:
• Do be friendly and compassionate even if people are being difficult (calming).
What you should DO:
• Do help people contact friends or loved ones (connectedness).
• Do give practical suggestions that steer people towards helping themselves (self-efficacy).
Do not :
• Don’t force people to share their stories with you;
• Don’t give simple reassurances like “everything will be ok” or “at least you survived”;
DO not:• Don’t tell people
what you think they should be feeling, thinking or doing now or how they should have acted earlier;
• Don’t make promises that may not be kept.
Treatment
• Interpersonal, relational, and psychodynamic psychotherapies;
• Anxiety management, cognitive therapy and exposure therapy;
• A combination of psychotherapy and medication;
References• http://www.istss.org/resources/what_is_traumatic_stress.cfm (2009 11 03)• http://www.centerforthestudyoftraumaticstress.org/resources/categorylisting.
php (2009 11 03);
• PICTURES:• http://www.faqs.org/health/images/uchr_05_img0496.jpg• http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4597346/81417-
main_Full.jpg• www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/brain/images• http://www.onlinecounselingblog.com/2009/06/post-traumatic-stress-
disorder/• http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/post-traumatic-stress-
trap_1.jpg• http://www.iandodds.co.uk/images/
20090301202656_foreign_service_journal_1.jpg• http://www.iandodds.co.uk/images/
20090301202656_foreign_service_journal_1.jpg• http://helpingpsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/
iStock_000003781332Small.jpg• (All watched at 2009 11 05)