Post Traumatic Stress

What is Post Traumatic Stress (PTS)?

People who have PTS:

• have seen or experienced a serious threat to their life or physical well being or that of another. Examples of this include an assault, an accident or being in a natural disaster
• are re-experiencing the event in some way
• feel numb or are avoiding situations or experiences that they associate with a traumatic event
• have feelings of being highly aroused such as difficulty sleeping, feeling irritable and having difficulty concentrating, etc.
• the above occur for at least a month

When does it occur and to whom?

Signs of post traumatic stress (PTS) can occur at any time such as days, weeks or even months after the event. It can occur with the person who has experienced the traumatic event or those who have seen it such as rescue workers or relatives of those involved.

Why does it occur?

It is believed that post traumatic stress occurs as a way for our minds and bodies to understand and make sense of the event so that we can eventually get to the point where we react to it in a less distressed way. This might occur in a variety of physical, emotional and psychological ways.

Signs and symptoms

• frequent and disturbing memories of the event
• changes in sleep (e.g. not being able to sleep, or wanting to sleep all the time)
• ongoing vivid dreams about the event
• feeling or behaving as if the event were happening again
• changes in behaviour (e.g. short temper)
• changes in feelings about yourself (e.g. feeling useless)
• numbed responses
• changes in personal effectiveness (e.g. poor concentration)
• reduced interest in what is happening around you (e.g. feelings of being apart from the world)
• a sense of always needing to be highly alert
• a sense of feeling vulnerable and potentially loosing control
• avoiding activities and / or places which bring back memories of the event
• forgetting important part(s) of the event
• guilt at surviving the event or guilt for not having done something different at the time

How does your body help you cope?

1. Numbness: At first you may be numb. Your mind is allowing you to slowly feel the experience. Initially you may feel as though the event was unreal and it couldn 't have happened to you. Over time as the event becomes more real in your mind, you may feel that need to think about it, talk about it, or dream about it, over and over again.

2. Activity: You may feel that you want to be active and do many things after the event. This can be useful in helping you to restore some of your routine and a sense of control.

You need to remember that both of these ways of coping, if taken to extreme, may be harmful to you over the long run. Some people remain “numb” by avoiding any reminder of the trauma and therefore never really deal with it. Over-activity can be a way of keeping you so busy and distracted that you do not notice that you are not really coping well.

Coping Strategies

• The best strategy is to talk about the event with those who care about you or with a mental health professional
• Educate yourself. You might feel like you are going crazy because PTS can lead you to have nightmares, flashbacks, or a sense of reliving the event. You are not crazy but have anxiety because of the traumatic event. Knowing and learning about this is important
• Get back into your life: Sometimes people with PTS will stop doing the things that they used to enjoy and avoid friends and family. Even though it might be difficult, it is important to get back into the normal routine of your life as soon as possible. This includes going to work, socializing with friends and keeping up with hobbies or sports that you enjoy
• Maintain a regular routine of eating, sleeping, and working
• Give yourself extra time to accomplish ordinary tasks
• Do relaxing activities such as walking or hiking
• Try to think about what your physical symptoms might be trying to tell you. For example, shoulder pain could be telling you that you are “trying to carry too heavy a burden”
• Write about your experiences in a journal, diary, or personal letters
• Do calm breathing exercises or relax your muscles to reduce some of the anxious and tense feelings that your body is holding.
• Use grounding techniques: Grounding is very helpful if you are experiencing flashbacks and find yourself sometimes losing touch with the present moment. Grounding teaches you to stop losing touch with the present moment by concentrating and focusing on the present or by directing your attention to something else. For example, you might try running water over your hands and describing out loud how it feels. You can also try saying the alphabet backwards.
• Deal with your guilt. Although it is common for people with PTS to feel very guilty about what happened to them or the way that they acted during the traumatic event, these thoughts and feelings are false. No one can predict the future so you could not have predicted the trauma occurring. Also, it is easy to think about what you should have done after it has already happened. Knowing what you could have done (if you had predicted the trauma before it happened) does not mean that you are wrong or should blame yourself for what you did or didn 't do.
• Challenge your negative thoughts and develop realistic thinking

When to seek further help

• if you feel disturbed by intense feelings or body sensations that you can no longer tolerate
• if you think that your emotions are not falling into place and that you feel very tense, confused, empty, or exhausted
• if after a month you continue to feel numb and do not have appropriate feelings or if you have to always keep active in order not to feel distressed
• if you continue to have nightmares and poor sleep
• if you have nobody with whom to share your feelings and you feel the need to do so
• if your relationships seem to be suffering or sexual problems develop
• if you have accidents
• if you excessively smoke, drink or take medication after the event
• if your academic or work performance suffers