Yoga >>  Articles >>  General Discussion

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis And Treatment


Submitted by Kevin Pederson on July 27, 2009
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) is a kind of anxiety disorder which may develop on exposure to a traumatizing event which has caused physical losses. The trauma could be someone’s death, threat to life, severe physical injury, and threat to physical or emotional integrity. The history of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder starts with evidence of the disorder in war veterans and politicians. The term that is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder came in to being in the 1970s.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in children is caused by psychological trauma which can be due to witnessing or experiencing a physical threat, sexual abuse, or emotional stigma. The disorder in children is characterized by abnormal behavior with peers and guardians, an inability to talk and frequent sensation of ailments like headaches and stomachaches. Although Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a function of age, its effects can be horrendous in children.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder causes are as follows:

  • The death or illness of loved ones.

  • Being a victim of violence.

  • Being a victim of natural disaster

  • Wars or combat

  • Violent crimes like a robbery.

Post Traumatic Stress symptoms include:

  • Nightmares.

  • Incidents of recalling past traumatizing incidents.

  • Scary thoughts.

  • Feeling of loneliness.

  • Suicidal tendencies or resorting to violence.

  • Angry outbursts.

  • Sensation of guilt, feeling of being sad.

  • Trying to avoid certain people and places.

  • Inability to sleep peacefully. .

Post Traumatic Stress diagnosis includes the following steps:

  • Identifying exposure to a trauma

  • Frequent recurrence of the experience of traumatic events of past

  • Avoidance of stimuli that caused the trauma

  • Persistent incidents of arousal

  • Impairment of various functionalities in social and occupational areas

  • Persistence of these symptoms for more than a month.

The disorder might can be almost debilitating for many because of it’s disruptive nature that may hamper social integration and a variety of other activities. Prompt treatment is of the utmost importance as it can save the affected individual and their loved ones a lot of grief and misunderstanding. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment involves:

Exposure Therapy: This therapy is based on the principle of classical conditioning as well as operant conditioning. This therapy reduces fear and anxiety using principles of habituation and cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive Therapy: This therapy helps the afflicted persons to overcome dysfunctional thinking, behavior and responses. This therapy helps the sufferers to identify distorted thinking and modify beliefs.

Medications: Medications include peroxetine, fluvoxamine, and sertraline.

Alternative therapies: Alternative therapies such as Yoga can also provide long term benefits in treating PSTD. Yoga directly affects the autonomous limbic system and can therefore, promote healing at a very elementary level.

The persistence of disease has grave consequences and as such, must be treated in a timely manner.

Read more articles from the General Discussion Category.
Related Topics
 
Related Questions
 
Newsletter Sign-up
 
Subscribe eBooks
 
Related Yoga Information
yoga and frozen shoulder
yoga meditation
yoga and posture
yoga after abdominoplasty
gaiam yoga mat
 
Get Current News
 
General Discussion