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Tell Me More About Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
4. Everyone faces some trauma and stress occasionally. How is PTSD different?
Most people will experience one or more traumatic events during their lives. The most common civilian traumas are assaults and frightening accidents. Military personnel may experience PTSD during combat.
Most people experience acute stress after a significant trauma. In most cases the feelings pass as the person receives support from friends and with the passage of time. People prone to anxiety and depression and those closest to the trauma, are most likely to develop PTSD.
PTSD differs from normal stress because the trauma overwhelms the victim. It also differs from normal stress in regards to the severity of symptoms. Panic anxiety is common. Stress intolerance and nightmares are the rule. PTSD is diagnosed when symptoms disrupt normal functioning.
PTSD likely has a physiological basis that goes beyond normal stress. In chronic PTSD, structural brain abnormalities may occur such as reduced hippocampal volume. Changes in brain activation have also been observed. It is not yet clear if these changes represent abnormalities characteristic for PTSD or if they suggest a physiological vulnerability to PTSD.
A majority of PTSD sufferers experience concurrent psychiatric disorders such as depression and excessive alcohol use.
Reference
Pitman RK, Shin LM and Rauch SL Investigating the pathogenesis of PTSD with neuroimaging. J Clin Psychiatry 62 (Suppl), 17:47-54, 2001. |
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