Post-Traumatic Stress

Description: The development of characteristic symptoms after a psychologically traumatic event that is generally outside the range of usual human experience.

Symptoms

Anxiety(severe to panic) fear may be related to current memory of past traumatic life event, threat to self-concept/death, change in environment, and negative self-talk, possibly evidenced by increased tension/wariness, sense of helplessness, apprehension fearfulness, uncertainty/confusion, restlessness, somatic complaints, sense of impending doom, and sympathetic stimulation with cardiovascular excitement/palpitations.

Powerlessness may be related to being overwhelmed by symptoms of anxiety and lifestyle of helplessness/poor coping skills, possibly evidenced by verbal expression of lack of control over present situation/future outcome, reluctance to express true feelings, dependence on others, passivity and/or anger, and non-participation in care or decision making when opportunities are provided.

Violence, high risk for; directed at self/others which may be related to a startle reaction, an intrusive memory of an event causing a sudden acting-out of a feeling as if the event were occurring, use of alcohol/other drugs to ward off painful effects and produce psychic numbing, breaking through the rage that has been walled off, response to intense anxiety or panic state, and loss of control.

Coping, ineffective individual may be related to personal vulnerability, inadequate support system, unrealistic perceptions, unmet expectations, overwhelming threat to self and multiple stressors repeated over period of time, possibly evidenced by verbalization of inability to cope or difficulty asking for help, muscular tension/headaches, chronic worry, and emotional tension.

Grieving, dysfunctional may be related to actual/perceived object loss (loss of self as seen before the traumatic incident occurred as well as other losses incurred in/after the incident), loss of physio-psycho-social well being, thwarted grieving response to a loss, and lack of resolution of previous grieving response, possibly evidenced by verbal expression of distress at loss, anger, sadness, labile affect, alterations in eating habits/sleep and dream patterns/libido, reliving of past experiences, expression of guilt and alterations in concentration.

Sleep pattern disturbance may be related to psychological stress (anxiety, depression with recurring disruptive dreams), possibly evidenced by verbal complaints of difficulty in falling asleep/not feeling well-rested, insomnia and reports of sleep disturbance (nightmares, dreams of personal death, disaster-related dreams, flashbacks, intrusive/trauma images, hyper- somnia.)

Family processes, altered may be related to situational crisis, possibly evidenced by expressions of confusion about what to do and that they are having difficulty coping, family system not meeting physical/emotional/spiritual needs of its members, not adapting to change or dealing with traumatic experience constructively, and ineffective family decision-making process.

Treatment: This disorder may last for decades. Re-assurance and learning to cope with this are the only treatments. Medications are available.

Offered by Debra.