This is not a simple topic but we can try to understand PTSD by breaking it down into simple sections:

What is PTSD?

‘Trauma’ is a word that can mean so much but is defined as ‘a normal reaction to an abnormal event’.

The term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be then taken as later suffering from a past event, stemming from a traumatic experience. PTSD has been around for years and there are an abundant of ways one can suffer.

One must have suffered for more than one month for it to become a disorder rather than Post Traumatic Stress.

For reference, now familiar term PTSD used to be the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM).

What are the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder?

In PTSD, what we see can be interpreted entirely differently by the part of the brain that stores information. Different circumstances may create a different reactions to what is actually being perceived by the part of the pain connected to the physical and emotional reactions.

Symptoms can include difficulty managing your emotions, difficulty making good decisions; problems managing the boundaries between yourself and others (e.g., taking on too much responsibility, having difficulty leaving work at the end of the day, trying to step in and control other’s lives). Problems can also form in relationships. Physical problems such as aches & pains, illnesses, accidents, difficulty feeling connected to what’s going on around and within you; and a feeling of loss of meaning and hope. There are criteria that must be met if the person if to be diagnosed with PTSD, being the person actually has to have experienced an event they felt as traumatic, whether it was directly to them, witnessed by them or expressed to them, the person revisits and relives the event, they continuously avoids reminders of the event and act differently through over arousal after the event. The symptoms must last for over one month otherwise they are seen as Post Traumatic Stress (Rather than Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) And the event having a disruptive effect to the person in terms of their social life, occupational life and other day to day functioning’s.

As said above, the symptoms can differ. For example, signs could also come along from not buying the same products from a shop they usually go to every week; as they are avoiding a certain area of town to hope they won’t be attacked again.

Another realisation would fall into place when they had been acting not quite themselves for over a month. This can range from excessive changes or not, however, the unsettling within themselves for more than a month can be a case of PTSD.

What are the effects of PTSD?

There are 3 main categories when it comes to the effects of PTSD. Psychological / emotional, behavioural and physical.

Psychological / emotional effects can include feelings of hopelessness, insecurity, depression, guilt, intrusive thoughts, emotionally numbing, shame, anger and feelings.

Behavioural effects can include trouble concentrating, can’t make decisions, anger, obsessions, frustration, violence, trouble sleeping and increase in smoking and drinking. Effects may also include revisiting the event, avoiding reminders of the event. (For example they will avoid certain streets they were possibly mugged on). This could be continuous avoidance, and from this the person acts differently through over arousal after the event.

Physical effects can include headaches, digestive issues, cold sweats, palpitations, dry mouth, chronic fatigue, a startled response and self abuse.

These are outlines of how people may react when suffering from PTSD and everyone is unique and so there will be differences depending from person to person. They may suffer from one to several from the list above and can vary from category.