Do I Have PTSD?

Sep 21, 2017

Rachel Buchan

Sep 21, 2017

Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome PTSD , was a term first coined following the Vietnam war to describe the reaction some veterans were experiencing on return from conflict. It can also be called "shell shock" or "combat stress". Veterans returning from conflict today can also experience the disorder, and the term very literally describes the trauma that follows the stress of experiencing war.

Some of the common symptoms are:

Flashbacks
Intrusive thoughts or memories
Nightmares and / or disturbed sleep
Anger, aggression, sudden outbursts, feeling out of control
Feeling detached or a sense of "numbness"
In contrast to this, feeling on "high alert" all the time as though something bad may happen at any moment
Negative thinking, depression, suicidal thoughts or plans
Avoidance of anything that may remind you of the trauma
Physical reactions such as dizziness, sweating, panic attacks

Following its diagnoses after Vietnam, PTSD is now understood to be much a condition that can occur under a much broader set of circumstances. PTSD is a reaction that can occur having either experienced or witnessed anything that the individual found horrifying, stressful or distressing. Meaning PTSD is not something that occurs only if you return from a conflict zone or experience war, but rather can be experienced as the result of being a part of, or witness to, any trauma event. These traumas can include:

Being attacked in some way
A bereavement
Personal assaults such as; sexual assault, rape, mugging, bullying, robbery
Prolonged abuse
Surviving or being witness to a terrorist attack
Seeing someone else hurt or killed
Being kidnapped or held hostage
Going through a traumatic birth or witnessing a traumatic birth
Being a part of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami or avalanche

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Rachel Buchan

Rachel Buchan is a therapist listed on welldoing.org