Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
← Culture and Health | Healthy Weight → |
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that patients develop following an encounter with a traumatic experience. It is usually associated with the life-threatening experiences in which the patient had narrowly survived. This disorder is quite prevalent in genocidal scenes, as people get to witness their loved ones hacked to death. Even if such people eventually survive the ordeal, the sight of their relatives’ death hardly leaves them, and they end up experiencing severe stress as a result (Carlson, 2007). People who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder usually tend to avoid events or places that are closely associated with the scenes where they were affected. In case the incident occurs in a group of people, sufferers may become agoraphobic to the extent that they stay indoors. This disorder can completely change one’s life, especially the social aspect, in a manner that makes it impossible for them to live normal lives. Although the disorder has a long-standing history in the human life, it does not yet have formal criteria for diagnosis and classification. This has made it difficult to distinguish the disease from other disorders that affect people’s mental status. For example, depression presents itself with almost similar symptoms as post-traumatic stress illnesses and may be a source of diagnostic confusion. In fact, the disorder was given different names based on the geographical location as well as the affected populations. During the American Civil War, the disorder was quite prevalent among war survivors, and people began to associate it with the fatigue from combat. They decided to call it a combat fatigue and even tried to look for therapeutic intervention, considering that it appeared to last longer than normal fatigue. Survivors from the World War II who showed similar symptoms were said to have suffered from a “gross stress syndrome” and the Vietnamese solders returning from the Vietnam War were said to have suffered from a “post-Vietnam Syndrome”. These are only a few examples that show how the disorder was perceived differently, depending on the time and place where it became prevalent (Rothschild, 2000).
The disorder can be classified as either simple or complex depending on the severity of its symptoms. The simple form of the disorder is associated with an episode of ugly scenes that appears to have less mental effects on the patients. On the other hand, complex post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with a long-lasting exposure to seriously traumatizing scenes. They tend to have longer effects on humans, and the effects could lead to total brain damage or other physical illnesses like severe headache. In the United States, the prevalent cause of the disease is highest among war veterans who survived ugly scenes of war. In addition, cases of rape also appear to be a major cause of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, African Americans have proven to have a higher risk of suffering the disorder, possibly due to their violent lifestyles. According to the current statistics, prevalence of the disorder is lowest among Caucasians and Hispanics. The high prevalence among most minority groups has been attributed to the lack of social support in case one encounters such disturbing scenes. The effects of racism are also considered to be a major cause of the disease, because racism has been associated with molestation and murder in the United States. As a result, the victims tend to blame themselves for their conditions, a situation that exacerbates their stressful condition. According to literature, this was particularly prevalent among military populations, because they did not seem to have the same fate in case they were faced with traumatizing situations. While their colleagues from majority tribes would get a lot of support from their families as well as governmental agencies, casualties in minority tribes did not seem to get the same attention. This significantly hampered their healing process causing to suffer for a much longer time and become more affected. However, this has since changed with the adoption of social tolerance in the United States. During the 2001 terror attacks, health institutions in the United States witnessed a resurgence of the disorder among survivors of the terror attack. However, counseling centers were quickly set up to help them cope with their conditions (Yehuda, 2001).
It is not a guarantee that whoever experiences traumatizing situations will develop post-traumatic stress disorder or even show physical signs of the disease. According to research, trauma causes people to lose a part of their hippocampus, the part of the brain that mediates long-term memory. As a result, they forget the incidents so quickly that they don’t get stressed for a long time. If trauma causes reduction in the size of hippocampus among sufferers, then they are less likely to suffer from the stress disorder as they lose memory of the traumatizing situations. This medical reality is important in understanding the effects and the extent of presentation of the disorder. It is basically the reason why persons exposed to the same trauma experience different severity of the disease. However, there is a general agreement that survivors of trauma are likely to become cigarette smokers, alcoholics, or even marijuana users. This seems to disappear if the disorder is properly treated, and patients are taken through thorough counseling. When the disorder is left untreated, it can lead to the development of far-reaching effects, including affecting one’s relationship with the family or general mental function. Among women, under-treatment has been associated with a disruption of reproductive cycle and poor general health that can give room for opportunistic infections (Maxmen, 1995). There is a variety of risk factors that significantly predispose people to the severe effects of the disease. However, all of them border on the frequency and severity of exposure that patients suffer. Other risk factors that are deemed important include young age, female gender, as well as problems with learning abilities. In young people, the disorder may have severe effects, because they have less experience in life and may be unable to cope up with the trauma. As for women, trauma causes them to suffer hormonal imbalance and this eventually leads to low cortisol levels in blood. As a result, they suffer longer, because cortisol has a role in relieving stress. So far, anti-depression drugs are used in management of this stress disorder, because they increase the activity of specific chemicals in the body (Satcher, 2000).
In conclusion, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that patients develop following an encounter with a traumatic experience. It is usually associated with life-threatening experiences in which the patient had luckily survived. In genocidal scenes, this disorder is quite prevalent as people get to witness their loved ones hacked to death. The disorder can either be classified as simple or complex depending on the severity of its symptoms. The simple form of the disorder is associated with an episode of ugly scenes that appear to have less mental effects on the patients. On the other hand, complex post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with long-lasting exposure to very traumatizing scenes. However, it is not a guarantee that whoever experiences traumatizing situations will develop post-traumatic stress disorder or even show physical signs of the disease. According to research, trauma causes people to lose a part of their hippocampus, the part of the brain that mediates long-term memory. As a result, they forget the incidents so quickly that they cannot get stressed about the event any longer.
Buy nursing papers from us and demonstrate your academic excellence!
![]() |
Marcella M.
Lexington, KY
|
|
Dear EssaysEmpire.com, I am very happy with the work that your writers did for me. I was impressed by the plagiarism report, too. Thanks for everything! |
![]() |
Emily H.
Norman, OK
|
|
My writer revealed to me that when he isn’t working for you, he is teaching at a major university. He also told me that a lot of the other writers who work for you are professors. That is impressive! No wonder I got an A+ on my paper! |
![]() |
Susan L.
Ashland, OR
|
|
The writer who worked on my paper far exceeded what I asked of him. The paper is better than I thought it would be. I got an A+ on it! Thanks! |
![]() |
Mark M.
Cambridge, MA
|
|
The paper I ordered from EssaysEmpire.com is incomparable! Thanks for doing such stellar work. I have recommended your services to a few other folks who plan to try you out soon. EssaysEmpire.com gets my vote for best writing service every time. |
![]() |
Tommy Davids
Singapore, CH
|
|
EssaysEmpire.com knows how to do the things that it takes to instill confidence in their customers. They can be counted on every time, to deliver high quality service and high quality writing at prices that we can afford. I would never use any other writing company. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It ain’t broke! |
![]() |
Judy C.
Bolingbrook, IL
|
|
I have used EssaysEmpire.com for two years now, and I wouldn’t even consider trying another writing service. I am convinced that there is no other service as good as EssaysEmpire.com, and I only want to work with the best. EssaysEmpire.com has given me well written papers that have come in well before their deadlines, every time. I am happy with EssaysEmpire.com and commit to sticking with them. |
![]() |
Anne A.
Cambridge, MA
|
|
You dudes are awesome! Wow! I can’t believe I got an A+ on my paper! At best, I expected a B or C! |
![]() |
Billie N.
Atlanta, GA
|
|
EssaysEmpire.com is the only writing company that I can trust with my important writing projects. I have learned that I can count on your quality and ability without fail. Thank you, EssaysEmpire.com, for only hiring the best writers. I wouldn’t dream of using any other writing service. |
![]() |
Greg C.
Atlanta, GA
|
|
Your writing service is phenomenal. I love the fact that EssaysEmpire.com is even open on Christmas day. You never close, and that tells me that you are dedicated to students like me who might need help over the holidays or any time. The work you do is superior to that of other writing services. I’d say that overall, one simply can’t beat EssaysEmpire.com. Thanks for all that you do for students like me. |
![]() |
Sarah H.
Brooklyn, NY
|
|
As always, I can count on EssaysEmpire.com to never let me down. I had to place an emergency order and was worried that I had not given the writer enough time to do a good job. I was wrong. They did a tremendous job! Thanks ever so much! |
![]() |
Hannah B.
Tulsa, OK
|
|
I am happy. I am happy because I got an A+ on my research paper. I did this by hiring the professional writers at EssaysEmpire.com to write it for me. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Thanks, EssaysEmpire.com! |
![]() |
Barry M.
Seattle, WA.
|
|
BRAVO! EssaysEmpire.com has done it again. I have just received another A+ for an EssaysEmpire.com paper! Thanks!Thanks! |
![]() |
Royce B.
Dallas, TX
|
|
It is so refreshing to work with a writing service as professional as EssaysEmpire.com. Everything from your website, to your customer service workers to the writing itself, is top rate. I recommend you highly to anyone who will listen. |
![]() |
Doreen A.
Malibu, CA
|
|
Due to a family emergency, I was unable to complete a very important paper. Thanks to EssaysEmpire.com, I was able to hand in a well written paper and not sacrifice my grade. I will be forever grateful to your writing service for providing such outstanding work. Thank you so much. |
![]() |
Kaylie B.
Casper, WY
|
|
Thank you, EssaysEmpire.com, for being the one writing service that I can always depend upon. You are reliable, honest and you do great work. I have been happy with every order I have placed with you |
![]() |
Joyce T.
New Orleans, LA
|
|
I was trying to choose between EssaysEmpire.com and another online writing service and I didn’t know which one to pick. Then, I began to read reviews. I didn’t read even one thing negative about EssaysEmpire.com, and the other site was fraught with complaints. I went with EssaysEmpire.com, and it turned out that all the good things I had read about the service were true. My paper was fully guaranteed, but it was A-1 quality. The customer service people were great. The prices were right. Now, I am a devoted fan. When I need help with my writing, I go straight to EssaysEmpire.com! |
![]() |
Pete F.
Sparta, NJ
|
|
Dear EssaysEmpire.com, I have never used a writing service like yours before. None of the ones I have tried previously offered the kind of guarantees that you offer. I even bought a paper that was plagiarized once. I never have to worry about things like that with EssaysEmpire.com! Thanks a million! |
![]() |
Della M.
Belfast, IR
|
|
I had to turn on my laptop for the express purpose of writing to you. I had to let you know what lifesavers you people are! I had never even considered hiring a professional writer to help me and was almost resigned to dropping out of school altogether. Then, I thought about it, and asked myself what it would hurt to try EssaysEmpire.com for just one paper. That paper was written astonishingly well! From that one paper, I learned many of the things that I did not know about writing. It was perfect, so I learned all about formatting in the APA style. I learned a lot, so I want to thank you for that. |
![]() |
Cleo C.
Wichita, KS
|
|
To the writers at EssaysEmpire.com: Next week, I will be graduating with a degree in clinical psychology. Over the course of my college years, I have had to turn to you for help many times. Each and every time, you produced some of the highest quality writing my professors had ever seen. Because of you, I was able to keep a high grade point average and get into an excellent grad school. There are simply no words adequate enough to fully express my appreciation, so I’ll simply say, “thank you” and let it go at that. Please know that you are appreciated. |
![]() |
Morgan W.
Eugene, OR
|
|
I don’t see how anyone could write a paper about something as boring as the psychology of the two year old, could make it sound so interesting, but your writers managed to pull it off. Thank you for putting forth such a concerted effort to do a good job. I really appreciate it. I will use your service again |