Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: causes and symptoms

After a great emotional shock, this psychopathology can arise.

The purpose of this brief article is to explain what post-traumatic stress disorder is. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and what are its causes and most frequent symptoms.

Also, to show how psychology professionals help refugees in countries that do not provide the guarantees for an effective psychological treatment.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: a reality in today's world

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (often referred to as PTSD for short) is a disorder that is classified within the anxiety disorders. It is caused by an exposure to a situation of extreme anxiety, such as a rapesuch as rape, kidnapping, war, accident, etc.

Post-traumatic stress is not subject to any a priori defined experience, there is a great variety of events that can be life changing depending on each case.

Types of PTSD

According to Azcárate Mengual (2007) there are 3 types of PTSD:

• Acute PTSD: Symptoms last less than 3 months.

• Chronic PTSDSymptoms last 3 months or more.

• Delayed-onset PTSDSymptoms appear 6 months or more after the traumatic event.

In some cases, in PTSD, traumatic experiences are clearly remembered accompanied by high degrees of anxiety (which include fear, anguish, nervousness, etc.). All this generates in the person an extreme emotional exhaustion which is also often accompanied by irrational thoughts and ideas.

Diagnosis of PTSD

For a correct assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder first you must have a full understanding of the factors involved in the genesis and development of the problem. Points to consider and take into account are:

• The antecedents.

• Triggering factors.

• The maintenance factors.

• Possible solutions, etc.

A complete medical history history of the patient, professional professional follow-up and the appropriate family will be of great help in the rehabilitation of the patient.

Treatment

Each person is a different bio-psycho-social entity, and therefore the treatment in these types of disorders will be very varied, since it is necessary to analyze the emotional and psychological impact of the subject who has lived such an event and see how it develops after this to raise what type of treatment is effective and can help in the emotional and psychological regulation of the person.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies have been and are the most used in almost all anxiety disorders, since post-traumatic stress is a subtype of them. This technique is one of the most effective and the one that brings the best results.

However, there are specific techniques that are also effective, such as the already well-known Desensitization and Reprocessing by Eye Movement (o EMDRfor Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). EMDR is based on the assumption that anxiety is due to the fact that the search about the traumatic event remains or has remained unprocessed, which results in maintaining blocked cognitions, behaviors and feelings about the event experienced long ago.

In cognitive psychotherapies, the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy or REBT is one of the most widely used techniques. TREC advocates a profound philosophical change in the patient, [explain briefly what each new technique presented consists of] and has also been characterized by its reliance on in-depth research into anxiety disorders and the efficacy of its techniques on these problems.

Pharmacological therapies, as always, are very useful. These should be prescribed by a psychiatrist who will indicate the medication, the dosage and the time the person will remain in such treatment.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Hostile Territory

Although many of us do not live in a hostile environment, at any time we may experience a situation that may trigger an emotional psychological disturbance, and that will require a mental health professional. However, today in some countries of the world a large part of the population suffers from post-traumatic stress caused by the war conflicts that have been dragging on in the area for years.

Among them Ukraine and Syria, a country that has been hit hard by the war and everything that has been unleashed over time. Since peace is still far from being achieved, there are many professionals, both medical and mental health who are still working today to help a panic-stricken population with a high rate of PTSD, about 60% of the Syrian population suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and the figures could rise to 85% if the conflict continues.

There is a group of mental health professionals tasked to help the most vulnerable part of the population. to help the most vulnerable part of the population, such as children.such as children. The known techniques used by these professionals are projective techniques. At the same time, it is important to highlight how the drawings of the Syrian children express the reality and cruelty in which they live immersed. Their fears, anxieties and fears are also reflected, and are in themselves an illustration of the ways in which PTSD can be crystallized through forms of creative expression. Complementing these works are some alternative techniques to the psychological ones such as dance, singing, etc. These are part of a therapeutic program that could help hundreds of children to improve their emotional well-being.

Bibliographical references:

• Azcárate Mengual, M. A. (2007). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Brain Injury. Madrid: Díaz de Santos.

• Caballo, V. (2010). Manual de modificación de conducta. Guayaquil: Universidad de Guayaquil.

• International Classification of Diseases, tenth version.