About PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is in many ways a normal reaction to a traumatic event that exceeds the limit of what a person can tolerate. It is considered an anxiety disorder and was first formally acknowledged in 1980.(1) Awareness of the disorder is growing, particularly in the military context, although it is by no means limited to military personnel and their families.

A PTSD diagnosis requires that a person has experienced, either directly or indirectly, or been confronted with, an event that caused them to fear for their well-being or their life, whether or not it resulted in actual physical harm.

For a diagnosis of PTSD to be given, the following symptoms must cause significant impairment and continue for longer than a month :

re-experiencing is the inability to stop thinking or dreaming about the event ; avoidance causes the person to make persistent and deliberate efforts to stay away from anything that reminds her or him, even remotely, of the trauma ; numbing is often evidenced by feelings of estrangement or detachment from others, including family and friends ; hyperarousal causes a steady state of arousal and attention ; the person may be constantly on guard and ready to spring into action at any time. They may experience difficulty concentrating and staying focused. They may appear irritable and overly angry at times and have difficulty in falling or staying asleep.

D’après PTSD Among Our Returning Veterans, Sabella, Donna MEd, MSN, PhD, RN AJN, American Journal of Nursing : November 2012 – Volume 112 – Issue 11 – p 48–52doi : 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000422255.95706.40