Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that is associated with serious traumatic events. Sometimes it is characterized by survivor guilt and often follows a terrifying physical or emotional event. The event may cause the individual persistent and frightening thoughts and memories, or even flashbacks. People who suffer from PTSD often feel chronically and emotionally numb. They may exhibit symptoms such as increased anger or rage, hyper-vigilance, tremors, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), gastrointestinal disorders and self-medication with alcohol or drugs. (1)
PTSD is essentially a severe anxiety disorder as a result of a significantly traumatic event such as rape or war. Individuals continue to repeatedly relive the event and often avoid stimulation that is associated with the trauma. Sometimes that means not placing yourself in a situation that resembles the past traumatic event. Sufferers may also have difficulty sleeping and increased irritability. (2)
This is a very terrible burden to bear for both the individual and the family. It robs people of their peace of mind and their ability to function both physically and psychologically. Traumatic stressors can result from experiences from childhood, traumatic experiences, assaults, or war.
Resources:
(1) United States Department of Veterans Affairs: What is PTSD?
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/what-is-ptsd.asp
(2) American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress: What is PTSD?
http://www.aaets.org/article125.htm
(3) Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology: The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on Stress Biochemistry: A Ramdomized Controlled Trial
http://www.energypsych.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=203
(4) Stress Project: The Treatment of Combat Trauma in Veterans using EFT
http://stressproject.org/documents/Traumatology.pdf
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