PTSD

Some of these effects are strangely similar to how a few of our characters are acting. Interesting read. I've highlighted some interesting parts. Enjoy

Dealing With Trauma Frightening Events Can Have Lasting Effects		Find ANY word Find ALL words Find EXACT phrase
	Imagine seeing a fellow soldier killed by a roadside bomb. Or searching through the rubble of the World Trade Center for survivors. Or being sexually assaulted. You’re probably even trying to push those images out of your head as you read this. Some people find it impossible to stop thinking about traumatic experiences. They may have recurring nightmares. Fear and anxiety could begin to interfere with every aspect of life. It was called Soldier’s Heart in the Civil War. Since then, it’s gone by such names as Shell Shock, Battle Fatigue and Post-Vietnam Syndrome. Now we call it post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. And we know that it affects people other than those who’ve been to war. Anyone who’s been through an experience that involved physical harm or the threat of it can develop PTSD. Causes include mugging, rape, torture, child abuse, car accidents and natural disasters. After a trauma, you may startle easily and be constantly on guard. You might become emotionally numb or lose interest in things you used to enjoy. You may have trouble feeling affectionate. You could become irritable, aggressive or even violent. It’s common to avoid situations that remind you of the incident and to have trouble sleeping. These normal responses to horrific events usually become better over time. Most people don’t forget what has happened to them, but they can eventually put the incident in the back of their minds. They carry on with their day-to-day lives and don’t go on to develop PTSD. For some people, however, the symptoms don’t fade away. Their anxieties become so overwhelming that they are no longer able to focus on their daily lives. “Not all traumatic responses are PTSD,” says Dr. Meena Vythilingam of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). “It becomes PTSD in a small subgroup, when these symptoms persist over a month, cause extreme distress or interfere with the ability to function at work, school or home.” People with PTSD can’t stop thinking about the traumatic experience during the day and have nightmares about it when they sleep. Some people actually relive the event by vividly re-experiencing the sounds, smells or feelings of the original trauma. These are called flashbacks. Memories, thoughts, feelings or even flashbacks of a trauma can be triggered by ordinary things, such as a door slamming or a car backfiring on the street. To avoid being reminded of the trauma, people with PTSD might refuse to talk about it and stop going places that remind them of it. PTSD is considered a chronic anxiety disorder. It affects both men and women. Men are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events, and about 5-6% of them develop PTSD. Women are more likely to develop PTSD after being exposed to a traumatic event, however, with 8-14% developing PTSD. The chance of developing PTSD is highest after sexual trauma.