Post traumatic stress disorder

PTSD is an emotional illness or psychiatric condition that develops as an immediate, delayed and/or protracted response to a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experience. PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event or events in some way, tend to avoid places, people or other things that remind them of the event, and are very sensitive to normal life experiences.

PTSD symptoms vary among individuals and also vary in severity from mild to disabling. PTSD symptoms can include one or more of the following:

• • Flashbacks about the traumatic event

• • Feelings of estrangement or detachment

• • Nightmares

• • Sleep disturbances

• • Impaired functioning

• • Occupational instability

• • Memory disturbances

• • Family discord

• • Parenting or marital difficulties.

How is PTSD treated?

Education of PTSD sufferers usually involves teaching individuals about what PTSD is, explain that it is caused by extraordinary stress rather than weakness and how it is treated, and what to expect in treatment. Treatments for PTSD usually include psychological and medical treatments. Providing information about the illness, helping the individual to manage the trauma by talking about it directly, teaching the person ways to manage symptoms of PTSD and exploration and modification of inaccurate ways of thinking about the trauma are the usual techniques used in psychotherapy for this illness.

Teaching people with PTSD practical approaches to coping with what can be very intense and disturbing symptoms has been found to be another useful way to treat the illness. More specifically, helping sufferers learn how to manage their anger and anxiety, improve their communication skills and use relaxation techniques, can help individuals with PTSD gain a sense of mastery over their emotional and physical symptoms.

Cognitive therapy can help people with PTSD recognise and adjust trauma-related thoughts and beliefs by educating them about the relationships between thoughts and feelings, exploring common negative thoughts held by traumatised individuals, developing alternative interpretations, and by practising new ways of looking at things. This treatment also involves practising learned techniques in real-life situations

Eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of cognitive therapy in which the practitioner guides the person with PTSD in talking about the trauma suffered and the negative feelings associated with the events, while focusing on the professional’s rapidly moving finger. While some research indicates this treatment may be effective, it is unclear if this is any more effective than cognitive therapy that is done without the use of rapid eye movement.

Directly addressing the sleep problems that can be part of PTSD has been found not only to help alleviate those problems but also to help decrease the symptoms of PTSD in general. More specifically, rehearsing adaptive ways of coping with nightmares (imagery rehearsal therapy), training in relaxation techniques, positive self-talk and screening for other sleep problems have been found to be particularly helpful in decreasing the sleep problems associated with PTSD.

Medications for PTSD can be prescribed by doctors and psychiatrists.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours if you want to discuss post traumatic stress syndrome.