Skip to main content

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the family

Regions of the brain affected by PTSD and stress.Image via Wikipedia There are events in life that can traumatize a person to a degree that they become ill from the event. Experiencing multiple traumatic events over a series of days, weeks, months and years can lead to a disorder called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. How each person copes with trauma may vary greatly.
Symptoms of PTSD are as follows :
  • Flashbacks, where the event seems to be happening again and again
  • Reliving the memory or event to the point it interferes with day to day life
  • Distressing memories of the event
  • Repeated dreams of the event
  • Having a physical reaction to situations that remind you of the traumatic event
  • Emotional "numbing," often used as a defense mechanism to protect oneself
  • Feelings of detachment
  • Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma or blocking out
  • Lack of interest in normal activities
  • Moods that are flat and expressionless
  • Avoiding places, people, or objects that remind you of the trauma.
  • Sense of having no future or nothing to look forward to
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Exaggerated response to things that startle you, example: a phone ringing, or a person gasping
  • Excess awareness (hypervigilance)
  • Irritability or outbursts of anger
  • Sleeping difficulties
You may experience "survivor guilt" if your trauma relates to the death of someone you were close to, and the following symptoms, which are typical of anxiety, stress, and tension are listed here:
  • Agitation, or excitability
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Feeling your heart beat in your chest, sudden bodily temperature changes and sweating, panic attacks
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Paleness

How can family members help each other when they are experiencing PTSD?
If all experience some level of the disorder they must encourage professional help, especially if they recognize the symptoms. Do not rely on family members to “help” each other with the trauma, as it is impossible to be a means of support when you all may be suffering from the trauma. Each must seek individual help as each may have different levels and extremes of the disorder. Give your family member space and let them heal.
Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shifting your dependency off of others for your happiness

The Way to Happiness (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Happiness is not a given in this lifetime. It is something that has to be sought after, and it is often the ways we seek our happiness that determine how long and how successful our end results will be. People with mood disorders, depression and other personality issues become dependent on many external contributions to elevate their mood and happiness. When pills aren't getting you where you want to be.. This truth is, we all build up a tolerance to pills in some way or another. So what do we do then? Take stock in all the external factors that have been in your life of late. Have they been stressful, unsure, and negative? These things will come and go in life so pills will only carry you so far.  It is a good idea to talk your family doctor to rule out other contributing problems that may be affecting your mood, including having a thorough blood work up done to rule out low levels of iron, B12 etc. Sometimes there is an ...
2 comments
Read more

Learning the fine art of release...

Dawn Gagnon Photography ©2023 Release is a skill many fisherman develop over a lifetime of fishing. When they are not depending on the fish to provide food, but only the momentary pleasure of their company, they learn to release, so that the fish can return to their life, and the fisherman can continue doing what he loves. We as humans have to learn the art of release in other areas of our lives as well. We are called upon many times to release. Release guilt, release loved ones, release anger, release resentment, release the past... When we learn the fine art of releasing, we can then move on to embrace the truth, embrace our loved ones, embrace our feelings, embrace others feelings, embrace the future. The personality type that is most likely to resist learning how to release is one with low self esteem, dependent, seeking self worth through others, fault finding, judgmental, passive aggressive, smothering and likely to be disappointed a lot in other people around them. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The truth inside of you

"Trust me..." Do you ever run across people that say the word "trust me" a lot and wonder why they feel so compelled to convince you of something?  Many times in life you may run across or know someone that possibly tries a little too hard to convince you they are telling the truth..and it seems in the  midst of all of their words you'll hear a phrase like "trust me."  "Less than..." Just like the phrase "the lady doth protest too much" the phrase "trust me" can send up a red flag when over used. With  the first phrase, this suggests the lady denies so vehemently that it suggests she is lying.. and the phrase "trust me" suggests you not doubt or question so that I may fool you. This may not always be the case some people sputter out phrases out of habit, but for those others, these words and these two phrases, are closely related. One of the most important steps we can make in improving ourselves internall...
Post a Comment
Read more