Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Anxiety

Post traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that affects many people who have been through an intense or violent trauma. It is commonly seen in people who survive violent accidents, crimes, or serious personal losses. First diagnosed in soldiers returning from wars, even today, our soldiers who return from active tours of duty often suffer from PTSD. It is also seen in women who are victims of rape. The traumatic incident that causes PTSD usually includes witnessing the death of someone close, serious injury, threat to life or an attack on a person’s physical or emotional integrity.

According to estimates, at least 7 to 8 percent of all Americans suffer from PTSD. Those who suffer may be very sensitive to usual everyday situations, and may display avoidance, which means they try to stay away from people and places that were familiar to them, or remind them of the trauma.

While people who have gone through a traumatic incident are prime cases for PTSD, the anxiety disorder may even manifest itself in people who have been repeatedly exposed to incidents that may not be known about to others. An instance of this is abuse. Also, PTSD does not always show itself immediately after the incident. The symptoms that you need to look out for can be divided into three categories:

• Recurrent episodes of reliving the traumatic experience that caused the disorder. This may be in the form of nightmares, bad memories or flashbacks.
• Some people may display symptoms of avoidance to different levels. In some cases it may reach a phase where it almost seems like a phobia of people or places, many of which remind the person of the trauma. A general numbing of emotions may also been seen.
• Chronic signs of hyperarousal. These may include problems with sleeping, like irregular hours or lethargy thru the day, anger, anxiety attacks, irritability, poor concentration, blank patches in memory and hypersensitivity to one’s surroundings.

There are different treatments for PTSD, which include psychological or medical treatment. Patients may be prescribed medication. In psychological treatment, patients are made aware about the disorder, and shown how to come with their associated problems that come from trauma. For instance, patients may be shown how to manage anxiety attacks.

Recently, alternative therapies have also shown promise with treating PTSD. Some of the therapies include using acupuncture to treat anxiety and stress management. Biofeedback can also be used to treat anxiety. Yoga and massage therapy may also be used.

If someone you know suffers from anxiety because of PTSD, you can help them with relaxation. If they feel an attack coming on, they can clenching and unclenching their fists, and then start tensing and relaxing the muscles of your neck, arms, face, stomach and legs. They can also learn basic meditation techniques to keep these attacks at bay.