Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD

What Does PTSD mean?

▪ An individual has developed a mental health condition brought on by going through, seeing, or learning about a traumatic event.

▪ Incidents that can cause PTSD include but are not limited to: Life threatening events, traumatic experience, serious injury, or sexual assault.

Signs & Symptoms▪ AVOIDANCE

▪ Avoid talking or thinking about event

▪ Avoid places that remind you about event

▪ INTRUSIVE MEMORIES

▪ Unwanted memories

▪ Flashbacks

▪ Upsetting dreams

CHANGES IN EMOTIONAL REACTIONS

Angry outbursts

Self-destructive behavior

Easily startled or frightened

NEGATIVE CHANGES IN MOOD

Emotionally numb

Hopelessness

Lack of interest

Suicidal Thoughts

Additional Risks

Depression and anxiety

Increased drug or alcohol use

Eating disorder

Suicidal thoughts or actions

TREATMENT PLANSPsychotherapy

Cognitive Therapy- Allows the individual to recognize their cognitive patterns, allowing the individual to correct ways of negative thinking.

Exposure Therapy- Allows the individual to effectively cope by exposing them to the their traumatic memories.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)- Allows individual to have sessions of guided eye movements to learn how to change the reaction to traumatic experiences.

TREATMENT PLANS CONT.MEDICATIONS

Anti-Depressants Anti-Anxiety medications

Prazosin (medication to relieve insomnia)

STATISTICS▪ About 7-8% of the

population will have PTSD at some point in their lives.

▪ About 8 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma.

▪ About 10% of women develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared to 4% of men.

American Sniper is a film about the legendary Navy Seal sniper, Chris

Kyle. The film describes his experiences through four tours in Iraq

which include 160 confirmed kills.

Chris Kyle’s first symptoms of PTSD began after his first tour when flash backs started. He was faced with a difficult decision to kill a mother and son that was trying to throw a grenade at a convoy he was providing security for. His time at home between tours was often filled with angry outbursts, occasional emotional numbness, and the instinct to react with deadly force. At his son’s birthday the family dog was playing rough with his son that triggered a flashback from when he was deployed. It made him react as if he was going to kill the dog; the whole party paused and watched. The voice of his wife snapped him back to reality just before he harmed the dog. Through all four tours Chris is forced to make difficult decisions and many kills but he is not always able to save everyone. On his fourth tour Chris and his team barely made it out alive after an ambush. During this ambush, Chris decides he is ready to stay at home with his family and leave the military. After being at home, Chris visits a psychiatrist at the Veterans hospital and they discuss if he has any memories that haunt him. Chris states that he is only haunted by the men he wasn’t able to save. The psychiatrist suggests that he starts working with some of the men at the Veterans hospital as a way to cope and to feel like he is in his own way, is still saving lives.

American Sniper

Chris suffered from several symptoms of PTSD that came to the surface each time he retuned

home from deployment. His symptoms included: flashbacks,

emotional numbness, angry outbursts, seclusion, and drinking.

Fortunately Chris was able to overcome and return back to

himself several years after his last deployment.

• http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/american-sniper/chris-kyle-true-story/

• http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/basics/treatment/con-20022540

References