Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

After the Vietnam War, American psychologists and psychiatrists discovered that veterans of this strange war were characterized by a mental disorder not previously described in the psychological literature. Then it got the name "Vietnamese syndrome", because it was noted by these soldiers and officers who participated in hostilities in peacetime. It was then noted that such a disorder can also occur as a result of other traumatic events: in this case, an event is considered traumatic if it is "beyond the limits of normal human experience." It is clear that this is not only participation in a war, when a person runs the risk of being killed every hour, but also any tragedy associated with a real and immediate threat to life. In connection with American studies in 1999, PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder (F43.1) was included in the tenth edition of the international classification of diseases ICD-10. The term "disorder" was used deliberately, because it is not a disease in the full sense of the word: in fact, it is a normal reaction of the psyche to abnormal circumstances. Unfortunately, the cluster of these symptoms and behavioral signs in most cases causes suffering and interferes with the personal functioning of the victims. Events that may lead to PTSD include:

natural or man-made disasters

wars, hostilities and battles

terrorism, torture, being held hostage

crimes, rape

life-threatening accidents

watching the violent death of others

What does it look like?

There are four phases in the course of PTSD:

1. The phase of denial

In this phase, PTSD does not appear at all. This is the strangeness of the mentioned disorder: for several months (according to some sources, up to 10 years) after the injury, nothing can happen. The human psyche refuses to perceive what happened. A person is busy arranging his life, which has fallen apart after a catastrophe, and he has no time for subtle emotional movements. And when life, it would seem, went into a normal rut, start …

2. Phase of aggression

At this stage, the person realizes with frightening clarity what happened to him - and he naturally wants to find someone to blame. Someone has to answer for what happened? A government that sends its citizens to death; or the police that don't catch criminals; or bureaucrats who squeezed aid to victims of a natural disaster … Sometimes it comes to self-accusation when a person considers himself to be guilty. There was even a special term - "survivor's guilt". This stage is characterized by general anxiety. A person has constant tension during wakefulness, which he may not even notice; increased fear reactions in everyday life; insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, and interrupted sleep. To relieve this constant excitement, the victim often begins to resort to alcohol or drugs. In addition, the unconscious processing of the traumatic experience begins:

I have frightening dreams. Nightmares in which a person either relives traumatic episodes, or runs away from someone unsuccessfully, or kills the pursuers, waking up exhausted and in a cold sweat

Flashbacks. Some trifle, reminiscent of the past, can completely immerse a person in the atmosphere of a past catastrophe: horror rolls over, the heart pounds like mad, sometimes even stigmata and other somatic reactions arise

Obsessive memories. A person wants to tell and talk about the past, to recite over and over again what happened - and at the same time he feels his alienation and the fact that no one can understand him: after all, we are talking about events that “go beyond the limits of normal human experience”, and how can a person who lives a calm measured life understand this?

3. Depression phase

At this phase, a person becomes convinced of his "separateness", that no one understands him. The sense of purpose is lost, and life becomes meaningless. Feelings of loneliness, helplessness, abandonment begin and intensify. Often people do not see a way out of this situation, it seems to them that the pain will intensify day by day. Sometimes it happens that in an attempt to find the meaning of life, a person begins to do charity work or becomes religious to the point of fanaticism. These solutions can alleviate pain, but rarely relieve depression, which often becomes chronic.

4. Healing phase

The experiences characteristic of this phase can be described as complete (not only conscious, but also emotional) acceptance of their past and the return of pleasure from life. A person turns out to be able to draw valuable life experience from the past and find a new meaning in life.

What to do?

The power of trauma causing PTSD is often such that, ideally, the fight against the disorder should be carried out at the level of government programs. Moreover, at the first stage, the involvement of psychologists is meaningless: in this phase we are talking about social rehabilitation, which should be the subject of volunteer and rescue programs. The above description of the dynamics of PTSD is a model for the successful course of the process. Obviously, in the absence of rehabilitative actions, it rarely goes well. Unfortunately, the experiences of most people with PTSD are stuck for a long time in the second or third phase. Often, entering the fourth phase of apparent "healing" is associated with the work of the protective mechanisms of the normal psyche, faced with abnormal circumstances, and is characterized not so much by processing as by blocking negative memories, which eventually leads to psychosomatic disorders. In this case, in the fourth phase, there is a possibility of the so-called "somatic collapse", which, without special psychological assistance, leads to gradual physical extinction and death. If you have had a serious encounter with violence in your life, you should not rely on the fact that "a healthy psyche will heal itself." The human psyche is labile, and can really recover itself, but in the case of PTSD, she will probably need professional help, so immediately after the second phase has begun, it is better to consult a specialist.