PsychUp Avenue: PTSD

 PsychUp Avenue: PTSD 

With everyday events that we face, we are bound to come across a traumatic event that leaves us a bit shaken and sometimes make us lose a night or two of sleep. In most cases, individuals are able to deal with these traumatic experiences and carry on with their lives. However, there are cases where we fail to deal with these traumatic experiences, even though we've had enough time to heal. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental condition that is triggered by a terrifying or traumatic event that make everyday life a little difficult. The traumatic event may either be personally experienced or witnessed. Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, then you may have PTSD.  PTSD usually includes flashbacks of the traumatic event, nightmares, severe anxiety and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. 

for example, let's say you got mugged or someone got mugged right in front of your eyes and perhaps the person being mugged got shot or stabbed, but lived. It is understandable that you will be shaken a bit from this experience and agitated when you are walking alone, especially at night, but with time you will get over this and walking alone will not really be a problem. However, if the even leaves you so shaken up that even after months or years after the event, you are still scared of walking alone because you are in constant fear of being mugged or shot, then you probably have PTSD. 

Sometimes PTSD may be mistaken for a specific phobia because they are closely related, but keep in mind that the fear of PTSD comes after a traumatic experience, unlike that of phobias.

Let's check out more mental health issues in the future