Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

If I were to ask you exactly where you were 10 years ago, when you first heard the news of the planes being crashed into the twin towers, would you remember that as clearly as if it were happening right now?

In fact it’s likely that anyone over the age of 5 recalls that day. And they have experienced some stress from that event. While planning this article, I asked my daughter who was five years old at the time. I was surprised when she gave me a detailed recollection of my coming to pick her up from kindergarten. She recalled how I spoke to her in hushed tones as I hurriedly awoke her from nap time. She says that she wondered why I was there that early. And when I told her what had happened in New York City she became concerned for her half-sister.

We could not shield our children from the effects of the national terrorist attack.

I recall going home afterward. My parents were visiting from Nigeria. In a sense I was glad to have them there.

It is at times of collective stress that we appreciate our connection to one another.

For the majority of us we gradually resumed what has become the semblance of a normal life. I recall that for a few weeks after the attacks, I would encounter some patients who were stressed out by the events. They were having a hard time coping. I do not recall any in particular that were directly affected by the attacks. They were stressed out by watching the events day after day unfold and as the enormity of what had taken place set in.

The world as we perceived it had changed.

It is ten years today since the way we saw our world changed forever. We have been to war. In that span of time we have lost over 6000 armed force personnel to the effects of war.

For those service men that survived the war, a significant number have come home suffering the effects of the war. This is called post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly called PTSD. I have seen quite a few in my practice.

I also have no doubt that there are a segment of people out there today who are still reeling from the effects of September 11 2001. Because on that day like no other day in our lifetime, our experience of the world was changed forever…

What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

I referenced the national institute of mental health on defining post-traumatic stress disorder. This is an anxiety disorder, which people may get after living through an extremely stressful event. This may be an event that happens in their personal life such as a car accident, rape, and domestic abuse. Or it may be a national event such as the September 11 terrorist attack. Or natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. The important thing that sets PTSD apart is that long after the stressful event is over, the people who suffer from it continue to experience a heightened level of anxiety.

Some other symptoms of PTSD

According to the national institute of mental health, the symptoms of PTSD are divided into three categories-

1. Re-experiencing symptoms:

•Flashbacks-such as reliving the trauma over and over. This can cause physical symptoms like a racing heart, fast breathing or sweating
•Bad dreams
•Frightening thoughts.

Re-experiencing symptoms can cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Asking a question, certain objects, or situations can also trigger re-experiencing.

2. Avoidance symptoms:

•Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience
•Feeling numb emotionally
•Experiencing strong feelings of guilt, depression, or worry
•Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past
•Having trouble remembering the details of the traumatic event.

Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may make them change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may stop driving.

3. Hyper arousal symptoms:

•Being easily startled
•Feeling tense or “on edge”
•Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.

The hyper arousal symptoms are usually constant. They do not have to be triggered by an event that reminds a person with PTSD of the traumatic event.

People with hyper arousal symptoms may become emotionally stressed or even angry.

These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating.

It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event. Just as I highlighted earlier on, there were perhaps millions of us that experienced some of these symptoms in the weeks that followed 9-11.

The majority of people experienced these at different levels for a few weeks. Then we resumed a ‘normal existence’. We all experienced what is called acute stress disorder, or ASD.

However when the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD.

Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months.

Women are at more risk for PTSD. And even children can experience PTSD.

Children may not be good at explaining how they are feeling. Some of the symptoms that they may have include:

•Bed-wetting, when they’d learned how to use the toilet before
•Forgetting how or being unable to talk
•Acting out the scary event during playtime
•Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult.

What do you do if you are experiencing PTSD?

It does not matter what the event is that has led you to experience the symptoms associated with PTSD. The important thing is to get help. PTSD if not treated can have a bad effect on your ability to function effectively. I have seen countless Vietnam veterans who have never recovered from the effects of the war.

Sometimes it may be a series of stressful events that eventually trigger PTSD. It then becomes difficult to distinguish this from depression.

Speak to your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any of these symptoms for more than 2 months. Stop trying to cope by yourself.

We will never forget September 11 2001, but we must move on….

Dr. Eno Nsima-Obot is a board certified internal medicine physician as well as a life coach trained by an ICF accredited program. She brings over 15 years of passion and experience from the health and wellness industry. She is described as an authentic leader, who inspires people to make powerful changes in their lives using warmth and humor. It is her declared purpose to share with women from all walks of life how they make wellbeing their number one priority. By doing so she asserts that we are all achieve more. Click here to download a free copy of her newly revised e-book, Dr. Eno’s Secret Strategies to ‘Aging Gracefully’.

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