...07/25/13 Summary for HES 1 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Symptoms Every individual has gone through some sort of danger. Everyone, at some point, has been afraid. Fear triggers many instant changes in the body. These changes help the body prepare itself to defend against danger or to avoid it. This is taught as the “fight or flight” response. It is a healthy reaction meant to protect an individual from harm. But in post traumatic stress disorder, this reaction is changed or damaged. Traumatic events bring out a reaction from an individual that may be different from that of another. Everyone is unique to their own ability to manage fear or stress and to cope with any threats posed by a traumatic event. This is why not everyone who experiences or witnesses a trauma will develop post traumatic stress disorder. It is not known why traumatic events cause PTSD in some individuals and not in others. In a time a traumatic event, the body will release stress hormones and chemicals. Generally, the body will recover after the event, and hormone and chemical levels will return to normal. For some reason the body of an individual with PTSD will continue to release the stress hormones and chemicals. Whether or not an individual will develop PTSD depends on many contributing factors. Some of these factors can be genes, emotions, and family settings, the intensity or duration of the trauma, any injuries or deaths as a result of the traumatic event, the distance from the...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...Determining Causes and Effects- Draft Version Jacqueline C. Winfield Professor Leverett Butts English Composition- ENG 115 Friday, November 22, 2012 Young children are not always the first people we think of when it comes to the stress factor. We tend to believe that they are living in their best years, however with changes in economic situations such as parents not remaining married, being exposed to violence, and even feeling the need to belong a child can become overwhelmed. According to Wikipedia contributors, stress in young children can be beneficial to proper growth and development if it is not persistent (2013). Stress in young children should be monitored by caregivers, teachers, and others to prevent youth from damaging brain developments, which may alter the child’s psychological and social growth. The three different levels of stress in children are: Positive Stress, Tolerable Stress and Toxic Stress. Positive stress encourages competence. Tolerable stress is more problematic but is brief. This may occur when there is a death of a close loved one. Toxic stress are very extreme and may cause developmental damage (Wikipedia, 2013). With the proper support children should be able to overcome many of these circumstances. Changes in young children lives may cause stress. It is a major issue for adolescence that have problems with adjusting to new conditions. From birth a child comes into a world that the things surrounding him or her set the...
Words: 1174 - Pages: 5
...Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) CNSL/526 May 11, 2012 Desirae Hutchinson, M.S., IMFT Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) is design for psychologists, SW, MFT, and counselors. This tool helps screen clients who suffer from PTSD, also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This instrument created in 1997, the test measures the strength of symptoms “related to a single identified traumatic event” (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2011, para. 1). The PDS is used on clients whose ages range from 18 to 65 years. The complete kit can cost $157 dollars. The administration time is typically 15 minutes or less (Pearson Assessments, 2012). The test can consist of 49 questions and can be given by a clinician or self administered. The PDS questioner can be used by clinicians, this will help the clinicians identify if client is suffering from PTSD, also known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The test was created for a professional or clinician to collect the data. This data will give the clinician inside on the clients feelings of a dramatic event that occurred in their life. Once the data is collected the clinician must make a decision on how to treat the situation. Clients who suffer from PTSD may be given prescribed medication to help them treat the PTSD. The clients who do not suffer from PTSD may be ruled out and guided accordingly. Some clients who are attach to a cultural stigma and are suffering from...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...Environmental Psychology Article Analysis Introduction to Article Analysis For the majority of the human population there has been an event or events that possibly produced an occurrence that had a large impact upon the persons’ overall perception and ability to function regularly. In some instances individuals are able to overcome the occurrence or event, but for some such events can trigger a potent impact that can create an eruption in their cognitive response, when this occurs it is usually diagnosed as being Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. The following brief analysis was written from context to an article titled “Ecological Analysis of Early Adolescents’ Stress Responses to 9/11 in Washington, DC Area. The following analysis of the article in mention will include a brief description of the article and its contents as well as the 9/11 events. Lastly, a discussion on some of the influences that this specific event may or may not have had on the field of environmental psychology will be briefly looked into. Summarization of Article September 11, 2001 was a day that will be remembered here in America for many centuries to come. On that horrific day back in 2001 terrorists’ high jacked multiple airlines and began their rain of terror upon the U.S. Some of the planes were flown directly into the twin towers in New York City, while others were flown directly towards our nations capitol in Washington DC. Many individuals were greatly affected...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Diagnosis The patient, Holden Caulfield is experiencing what I presume to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Holden is going through a lot of difficult situations in his life that he got him a little mislead, such as failing almost all his classes, trouble with his roommate, and leaving his school altogether. The situations Holden is being put through aren’t easy for him and cause him a lot of stress that changes the way that he acts, and feels. Caulfield is experiencing flashbacks, poor relationships, self-destructive behavior, and hopelessness about the future, trouble sleeping, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and efforts to avoid thinking or talking about his trauma. He is emotionally unstable, irritable, angry, shameful, guilty, easily startled or frightened, and dissatisfied with activities he once enjoyed. A thorough analysis has taken place that has proven that Holden Caulfield could perhaps have the predicted diagnosis. The treatment I am going to plan out for Holden is helpful for mainly his psychological problems. First and most important I am planning to have individual therapy with Holden to establish how he is to learn to overcome his problems. If I am not able to accomplish and reinforce this family help will be needed. The second thing to help Holden get back in normality would be to reenroll him in school. It doesn’t matter if he goes back to Pency as long as he is fully recovered. Reenrollment in school could help with his relationships...
Words: 723 - Pages: 3
...Analyze combat and operational stress reactions (COSRs) Combat Stress Controlling combat stress is often the deciding factor between victory and defeat in all forms of human conflict. Stressors are a fact of combat, and you and your Soldiers will face them. Controlled combat stress can call forth stress reactions of loyalty, selflessness, and heroism. Conversely, uncontrolled combat stress causes erratic or harmful behavior that disrupts or interferes with the accomplishment of a unit’s mission. Any uncontrolled combat stress can impair mission performance and may bring disgrace, disaster, and defeat. The art of war aims to impose so much stress on enemy soldiers that they lose their will to fight. Both sides try to do this and at times accept severe stress themselves in order to inflict greater stress on the enemy. To win, you must control combat stress. The word “control” is better than the word “manage” to emphasize the active steps that leaders, supporting personnel, and individual Soldiers must take to keep stress within an acceptable range. This does not mean that control and management are mutually exclusive terms. Management is, by definition, the exercise of control. Within common usage, however, and especially within Army usage, management has the connotation of being a somewhat detached, number–driven, higher echelon process rather than a direct, inspirational, leadership process. Stress is the body’s and mind’s process for dealing with uncertain change...
Words: 7902 - Pages: 32
...Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Abstract Posttraumatic stress disorder is a common and disabling disorder that develops as a consequence of traumatic events and is characterized by distressing re-experiencing portions of the trauma, avoidance of reminders, emotional numbing and hyper-arousal. In spite of the deleterious impact of PTSD within the U.S. military, our current understanding of the human pathophysiology governing the divergent paths associated with extreme stress response the remains unabated. Given the widespread phenomenon of ‘trauma’, it begs the question of whether or not preexisting features accompany some suffers who have developed PTSD and why others may or may not face the same effect. Much research has been conducted in this arena and it seems that no one researcher has a definitive cause, much less a standardized treatment approach for PTSD sufferers. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops as a consequence of traumatic events such as interpersonal violence, disaster, severe accidents, or other life-threatening experiences. The most common characteristics of PTSD are the re-experiencing of symptoms linked to a specific event. Patients involuntary re-experience aspects of the traumatic event in a very vivid and distressing way. This includes: flashbacks, in which the person acts or feels as if the event were recurring, nightmares, intrusive images or other sensory impressions from the event. For example...
Words: 2599 - Pages: 11
...nightmares about the accident almost every night. He had to quit his job because his office was located in the building right next to where he was meeting his fiancée for lunch the day she died. The few times he attempted to return to work were unbearable for him. He has since avoided that entire area of town. Normally an outgoing, fun-loving guy, Josh has become increasingly withdrawn, “jumpy”, and irritable since his fiancé’s death. He’s stopped working out, playing his guitar, or playing basketball with his friends – all activities he once really enjoyed. Josh suffers from Post traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) Josh would be better suited with secondary care and Psychotherapy to help talk about the issues he faces and help him find better ways to cope with the issues he faces, And also medication to help him sleep. Josh could benefit visiting http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml for more information about PTSD and maybe talking to others who suffer from the same mental health issue. Josh will face a lot of cultural issues with PTSD he will find it hard to relate to people or may become more...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
...questionnaires and databases. I’m currently employed at the Weed Army Community Hospital in the Medical Evaluation Board Department. We evaluate soldier’s medical diagnoses and process cases for medical discharge. Over the years I have counseling numerous mental health patients that are returning from deployment. Our goal is to advise and refer soldiers and family members to the appropriate sources to include, Social Work Service. Cases with extreme mental disability are soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with major sleep disorders. The problem is regardless of the psychotherapy and medication the soldiers are given they continue to have extreme nightmares of death and fear. Soldier that are diagnose with PTSD normally gets two to four hours of sleep a night. Beginning with the first step in the research process is to identifying the problem. Our dilemma was soldier Behavioral Health Care beyond Army life. Data was gathered from our Mental Health Department and Traumatic Brain Injury database. After we identify the problem a Case Review Committee meeting was conducted with the hospital Behavioral Health Providers to discuss and analyze the gathered data. The outcome was to set up a Case Review Committee with department heads at the local VA hospital that cares for soldier mental health care after the Army. In Collaboration with doctors and the Veteran Military Coordinators at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare...
Words: 720 - Pages: 3
...it is fair to say that stress is an event that is omnipresent in every part of life; and hence is worth exploring. Significant investigations and debates into the issues of stress, its determinants and who are generally susceptible to stress have been rife in recent decades (Langan-fox and Cooper, 2011). The general consensus is that frequent exposure to traumatic events is the vital stressor for stress and everyone is susceptible to traumatic events and stress (Langan-fox and Cooper, 2011). Externalisation of stressful behaviours as a result of being exposed to traumatic events such as severe neglect, abuse and repeated violence is clinically termed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013). It has been maintained that PTSD creates psychological and physical imbalances in sufferers; and affects their physical and mental well-being negatively (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2013). From this standpoint, it can be argued that PSTD equally has the potential to affect the well-beings of university students and their academic performances. However, Hall (2005) maintains that besides traumatic events and the resulting PSTD, university students particularly possess unique set of stressors which negatively impact on their everyday experiences in university and affect their academic performances...
Words: 6456 - Pages: 26
...The first reason on why war is never good is because of the effect it has on the participants and their families. When soldiers arrive from war they are not mentally stable and face difficulties when trying to participate in regular activities. Not to mention, they also suffer from physical problems such as asthma, tuberculosis and other complicated health problems. The main causes to these health problems are the dangerous chemicals that soldiers are exposed to when fighting in many wars. In addition to this, soldiers also risk their lives and can get physically hurt during a war. Soldiers are not mentally stable and suffer from depression and other mental problems. Mostly common is the post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress...
Words: 282 - Pages: 2
...Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) can have major and long lasting effects on the cognition of the people who suffer from them. Cognition is the mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning, and decision making (Goldstein, 2015). Previous research on individuals who had TBI is wide and varied. There is always evolving and new information being produced in this area of research. The US Military has also taken an interest in this area, as the instances of service members suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) correlated with a previous TBI is high (Summerall, 2007). Summerall states that another factor is that these injuries can occur in chaotic circumstances, such as combat, and may...
Words: 597 - Pages: 3
...Imagine that you experienced something terrible, unimaginable. No one understands you. You have no one to talk to. You live in fear. How would you handle it? “The brave men and women, who serve their country and as a result, live constantly with the war inside them, exist in a world of chaos. But the turmoil they experience isn’t who they are; the PTSD invades their minds and bodies.” Robert Koger said this thought-provoking quote in his book, Death´s Revenge. The quote captures the chaotic and fearful nature of PTSD. PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault ("What Is PTSD?"). People who suffer from PTSD can have various symptoms. They often will have vivid flashbacks of the event that triggered the...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...can't quite put my finger on makes my heart race and puts me back in combat mode. These are just some of the problems soldiers face when they return from war. It is something called PTSD ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In this paper I will discuss the definition of PTSD, soldiers committing crimes, and suicides after deployment. Also, what kinds of treatments that are out there for soldiers. Finally, we will discuss the struggles of a soldier returning home. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition resulting from exposure to direct or indirect threat of death, serious injury, or a physical threat. Events that can cause PTSD are called "stressors” and may include natural disasters, accidents or deliberate man-made events/disasters, including war. Symptoms of PTSD can include recurrent thoughts of a traumatic event, reduced involvement in work or outside interests, emotional numbing, hyper-alertness, anxiety and irritability. The disorder can be more severe and longer lasting when the stress is human initiated action (example: war, rape, terrorism) (Veterans Affairs.gov 2010). Crime is always high next to a active duty post. It is plain math. You have your normal amount of civilians, and you add the total amount of soldiers to that. The volume of military-related crime off-post is beginning to tax civilian law enforcement authorities. Felony El Paso County jail bookings for service members have...
Words: 1599 - Pages: 7
...loss of appetite or a sudden weight loss may be noticeable. On the opposite spectrum of that you may find a person who overeats to compensate their depression. d. Arrangements – A person suffering from severe depression may choose to make arrangements if they are considering suicide. These arrangements can include care for their family and pets in their absence. 2. Research a disorder associated with stress or mental health. - PTSD A military deployment can take a toll on any given person. The toll can be seen in many different forms such as emotional and mental disorders. These types of disorders can destroy an individual from the inside, out. Now multiply those symptoms by the number of deployments some soldiers have endured and the chance for mental disorders like post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increase drastically. There have been many studies done to determine the correlation between the number of deployments and PTSD. One particular study was conducted with the help of the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery under the Wounded, III, and Injured/Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Program to determine if the amount of dwell time a soldier has between deployments decreases PTSD. It has been shown by this study and several others that...
Words: 2961 - Pages: 12
