Almost everyone will experience at least one traumatic event at some point in their lives.
Whilst the majority, can recover from these events relatively unscathed,
Around the world, millions of people are left with long term effects of the trauma. This can
often manifest as flashbacks, nightmares, and even negative thoughts that can interfere with
everyday life. People affected in this way suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD
In this video we will break down PTSD, so let's talk mental health.
My name is Dr Hart-Pinto and in this series,
we are aiming to break down the social barriers of mental health.
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Ok, so what is PTSD? And who gets it?
In response to traumatic events, our brains trigger a natural response, called the fight
or flight response. This is designed to prepare our bodies to combat any impending danger.
The exposure to a traumatic event triggers a nervous and hormonal chain reaction,
activating the Autonomic nervous system, and releasing stress hormones. This response
increases your breathing and heart rate, which in combination with the stress hormones,
prepares your body to defend itself or flee from danger, the so called, fight or flight response
An increased activity in the autonomic nervous system and stress hormones can
last for several days, leaving individuals with re-occurring thoughts of events,
increased anxiety and insomnia. For the majority, these symptoms subside and never return,
however around 1 in 4 individuals these experiences can persist resulting in PTSD.
In many cases the initial feelings subside only to return several weeks, months or even years later.
PTSD, therefore, is an anxiety disorder that is triggered by the traumatic experience.
The condition can occur at any age and to anyone.
Normally, the precipitating traumatic event includes a threat of severe injury or to life,
however, any stressful event of personal significance can also trigger the condition.
Whilst the condition can happen to anyone, several characteristics can place you at increased risk:
• A recent stressful life event, or a Previous childhood trauma
• You are of female sex • Have a history of past psychiatric conditions,
including personality disorders • If you have a poor support bubble,
come from a lower income household, or not experienced good progression in school.
Given the natural history of the condition PTSD is very commonly reported in military veterans,
and during world war one was given the name “shell shocked”. The incidence of PTSD has been reported
as high as 15% in military personal who have served in the more recent afghan and Iraq wars.
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What are the other symptoms of PTSD?
The most widely known symptoms of PTSD
are flashbacks, nightmares and negative thoughts linked to the traumatic experience.
Most importantly, the symptoms of PTSD interfere with everyday life.
More broadly the symptoms of PTSD can be split into 3 Categories:
1. Hyper-Arousal a. This group of symptoms, is associated with
an abnormal state of increased responsiveness. b. This can leave you experiencing:
i. Persisting anxiety and Hypervigilance ii. You may be more irritable,
and have difficulty concentrating
iii. Difficulty sleeping iv. Easily startled
2. Intrusive thoughts: a. This can range from
persisting thoughts of the traumatic events, to flashbacks and nightmare.
3. Avoidance a. You might try to
avoid situations which may trigger reminders of the traumatic event,
and seek to avoid discussing your experiences b. Some people even have trouble
recalling the traumatic event c. You might become emotionally detached
How severe is my PTSD?
As doctors we assess the severity of your PTSD on how your symptoms interact with your daily life.
In Mild PTSD – Patients Day to day life
is not affected and the symptoms of the condition are manageable
Moderate PTSD – The levels of distress caused by symptoms are elevated,
and there is evidence of impact on daily functioning. But you are not experiencing
thoughts of causing harm to yourself or others.
Severe PTSD – Symptoms of PTSD have become unmanageable, with significant impact taken on
day-to-day life. You may be experiencing serious thought of harming yourself or others.
What treatments are available for PTSD?
Therapy plays a significant role in getting back control of your PTSD. This usually takes the form
of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, known as CBT. This therapy technique works on the principle
that our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions
are all interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.
During CBT your therapist will help you manage your PSTD symptoms by altering the way you
think and feel. Helping to restructure these negative feelings improving the way you feel.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) can also be useful. In this therapy your
therapist uses 2 methods of stimulation, this may be using touch, sound and asking you to
track movement with your eyes. You will then be asked to recount the traumatic events. It
is believed that this method of therapy helps your brain reprocess your traumatic experience.
If psychological treatments have not proven to be successful in managing your
PTSD you may be offered medications to support you.
Antidepressant medications such as Venlafaxine or SSRIs are proven to be useful in the management
of PTSD. For some individuals, with resistant symptoms, psychiatry involvement may be justified,
under their care an antipsychotic medication called risperidone can be used.
Prognosis
Most patients will recover from their PTSD through a combination of regular therapy
and supportive medications. However, some individuals will experience some lifelong
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