Hello this is Questions about PTSD

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

With post traumatic stress disorder, you have developed persistent symptoms after a traumatic event; think of an accident, assault, abuse or violence. The way you perceive threats and your response to them is disturbed. For example, you may relive the event, experience negative thoughts and feelings, have physical symptoms or be constantly alert and attentive.

If you've been diagnosed with PTSD, it's understandable there's quite a bit on your mind. You have suddenly been given a label that may bring up some feelings and thoughts. Perhaps there is also a bit of joy because you know what you are dealing with and you have more clarity. And you undoubtedly have a lot of questions: how to proceed? Will I ever get rid of it? What can I do to feel better?

If you feel comfortable with the professional who made the diagnosis, you can explore with this person how you will address your symptoms.
If you are in doubt about this, it is advisable to contact your doctor or another trusted person who can help you.

Trust is essential and crucial in all the next steps you will take. Every process is unique. There is no "one size fits all" solution. I speak from experience. There are various forms of help, but you have to figure out for yourself what works for you. For example, one thing will appeal to you, feel good and help you while something else will backfire or you won't feel any difference.

This is a question that is not easy to answer. You may recognize things after reading the information on my website, or elsewhere. Just because you recognize things does not automatically mean that you have PTSD. In addition, PTSD has many similar symptoms to other mental illnesses. It is important that you first get a good determination of what is going on; whether you have a disorder and if so, which one. That way you avoid getting the wrong help and possibly getting even further from home. My advice is: talk to your family doctor. The family doctor usually knows where to go and can refer you, if necessary.

If you find that you are suffering long-term and/or frequently from a traumatic event or series of experiences, the first step is "awareness. Becoming aware and recognizing that you are suffering is essential to taking the next step. A next step may be to talk to your family doctor or another confidant in your environment (for example, a friend, a family member, your parents, a mentor at school, the HR person at work). From there, you can take follow-up steps.

PTSD can manifest itself in a variety of ways. However, there are some signs you can watch for:

• You have had or seen a traumatic experience.
• You have flashbacks (internal memories) of a traumatic experience.
• You experience health problems such as sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, headaches, high blood pressure or lethargy, for example.
• You avoid situations, locations, experiences, conversations, triggers: anything that reminds you of the traumatic experience.
• You notice that you are much more anxious, more tense, experience a high level of stress, are more skittish.
• You feel gloomy, have more frequent negative thoughts, perhaps even thoughts of suicide.
• You are suddenly overly protective of or fearful for the safety of loved ones.

You may recognize yourself or someone close to you in one or more of the above descriptions. This does not necessarily mean that you have PTSD. It is good to investigate further by making an appointment with your family doctor, or another confidant you feel comfortable with.

The characteristics or symptoms of PTSD can be divided into four main groups, with different manifestations:

Intrusive/obstructive memories of the trauma

• You have re-experiences/repeating images of the trauma, making it feel like you are reliving the trauma.
• You experience a severe stress reaction (intense, physical sensations and/or emotional reactions) to things that remind you of the trauma.
• You have nightmares about/due to the trauma.

Avoidance

• You avoid places, people and all things that remind you of the trauma, evoke sensations in your body, trigger emotions.
• You avoid thoughts of the trauma and don't want to talk about the trauma.

Negative thoughts and feelings

• You develop negative thoughts about yourself and your environment.
• You struggle to experience fine and positive feelings.
• You have trouble remembering things - memory problems.
• You feel emotionally numb, flattened, cut off from your feelings.
• You find things you used to enjoy (hobbies, activities) not enjoyable or much less so and don't feel like undertaking them.
• You have no or much less need for contact with your nearest/ dearest.
• You have no or much less need for intimacy and sex.

Change in physical and emotional reactions

• You are more frequently and excessively skittish - the reaction is disproportionate to the event.
• You are constantly alert.
• You withdraw more into your own environment and avoid contact with the outside world (including loved ones and immediate neighbors in your environment) more often.
• You are dizzy: more often, more severe and perhaps even permanently.
• You suffer from perspiration attacks.
• You feel more often and/or very nauseated.
• You have trouble sleeping: falling asleep and sleeping through. 
• You have trouble concentrating, are easily distracted.
• You have more frequent (intense) headaches.
• You detach yourself from your body in order to numb yourself, so you don't have to think about and feel the trauma and avoid the experience. This is called dissociation.
• You are irritated more often and worse.
• You are angry more often and more violently.
• You experience intense feelings of guilt and/or shame.
• You seek out addictive substances (alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, gaming) to numb yourself

You don't have to experience all the symptoms. You may recognize yourself in only some of them. If so, it's a good idea to contact your doctor or someone else you trust and talk about it.

A person may experience PTSD-related symptoms for several days, weeks or months. Usually these disappear again. If you have PTSD, it can cause symptoms for months, years and sometimes your entire life. This varies from person to person and depends in part on factors such as age, personality, the help provided, the severity and duration of the trauma. Every person and every trauma is personal and is experienced uniquely - therefore, you cannot attach a time period to PTSD.

Many people experience PTSD symptoms after a traumatic experience. Usually these go away after a few days, weeks or months as well. But sometimes they last longer; years and sometimes a lifetime. There is no clarity about whether, how and in which people PTSD passes. It is always advisable to talk to a specialist if you experience symptoms.

The question is whether PTSD can be cured or that you treat the symptoms. Curing PTSD/effective treatment of symptoms depends on several factors:

• The severity and duration of the trauma.
• The age at which the trauma occurred.
• the degree of help
• the intensity and type of the help provided
• the time that has passed before help is initiated - was help initiated immediately after the trauma/event or did it take a period of time, and if so, how long was this period?

If you are experiencing symptoms and suspect you may have PTSD or another disorder, the important first step is to see your doctor. But how do you prepare?

Make a list of all the symptoms you are experiencing: physical, mental, emotional. Write down everything you are experiencing and try not to leave things out because you may be ashamed of it, feel silly writing it down or have a negative association with it.

Write down all the events that:

• you experienced as traumatic and/or
• have had (and may still have) a great impact/influence on you
• Have caused intense/overwhelming feelings of fear, shame, anger and/or helplessness

Write any medical information: think about medications and supplements you are taking, previous diagnoses made, physical or mental health problems.

Name things you no longer do or avoid because they stress you out.

Write down any questions that come to mind right now so you can ask them during the interview. 

If you find it difficult or hard to write these things down, ask your partner, a friend or someone else you trust for help.
And if you find it exciting or don't feel comfortable going into the conversation alone, take someone with you.

A psychologist or a psychiatrist.

A psychologist or psychiatrist examines your mental health using questionnaires, instruments and interviews. To be diagnosed with PTSD, you need to have at least one month of reliving the trauma and at least three avoidance symptoms, including 2 or more negative mood and cognition changes and at least two symptoms of hyperarousal.

Negative mood and cognition changes can include extreme anger, shame, guilt or anxiety.
And hyperarousal means that your body reacts hyper alert in response to thinking about the trauma. Even though there is no actual danger, the body reacts as if there is danger, with associated manifestations such as, for example, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, increased irritability and being overly skittish. 

There are different types of treatment for PTSD. Usually the focus is on psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Sensory-motor psychotherapy, which focuses on how the symptoms present themselves in the body rather than the actual events, is another treatment option. But EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), medication (temporary or otherwise), relaxation and breathing techniques and massage are also good forms of (complementary) treatment. From my own experience I can say that a combination of several things has helped and still helps for me. Over the years I have learned to feel what I need and adapt my treatment accordingly.

If you have PTSD, it is important to seek professional help. However, there are also things you can do yourself to support yourself, such as:

• Talk to loved ones and/or people close to you about your experiences, concerns and complaints. You are the one who decides what to tell whom. Don't feel the obligation to explain to everyone around you.
• Ask for help from those around you: immediate family, friends, your immediate coworkers, etc. You are responsible for yourself and how you deal with PTSD, but a safety net around you can provide extra support and help you.
• Read up on PTSD; try to gain as much knowledge as you can. This may seem useless or maybe you don't feel like it (at the moment). From experience, I can say that it helps. If you are knowledgeable, then you are better off asking those around you for help and telling them what is going on with you.
• Be patient with yourself. Don't be (too) hard on yourself and accept that you need time to process and accept things.
• Provide distractions - this can be through contact with loved ones, a sports or hobby club where you feel comfortable or another activity that gives you positive feelings.
• take care of your physical body; eat healthy and regularly, get exercise and enough sleep, try to find ways of relaxation.
• Stay away from alcohol, drugs and other addictive substances. These may provide quick relief, but are much more harmful in the long run: in fact, they can worsen symptoms and make recovery more difficult.
• Bring structure to your life. Rhythm and regularity bring peace to your mind. You desperately need that, with all the extra stimuli and sensitivity to stimuli that PTSD gives you. In addition, by applying structure you can better assess what you can and cannot handle, you have more overview; therefore, you can better take care of yourself.

These may seem like small, trivial things, but they can be just that little support you need or help you through a difficult period.

In people with PTSD, the brain works differently. They more often experience things and situations as threatening, when in reality it may not be so threatening. This is because the brain's functioning is disrupted. Medications that may be able to help reduce the brain's hypersensitivity or bring more balance to how the brain works are serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, called antidepressants.

There are several things you can do if you have someone close to you who has PTSD.

It is good to read up on PTSD: knowledge about the subject can help you in dealing with the person and it gives more understanding.

Provide a listening ear. Someone who has PTSD may regularly feel the need to talk about his experiences, feelings and thoughts. If only because he is easily stuck in his own world, has repetitive thoughts, is triggered by all kinds of things. Then it helps to be able to share this; by talking, venting things, space can be created to be able to move on. At the same time, it is important to realize that you cannot force someone to talk; even if you see that the person is stuck in their world. Sometimes that is in fact very difficult and too intense. So yes, offer a listening ear, but also be aware that this does not always help.

In addition, people with PTSD often experience the world as unsafe. Being able to trust people does not come naturally to them, and it is all the more important that the people close to them are trustworthy. Open and honest communication is essential so that you both know what to expect from the other person.

Furthermore you can start a conversation: ask what the person with PTSD needs and expects from you. And be honest if you can't meet expectations. That way there will be no noise in the communication.

Do not try to change the person with PTSD. The person's symptoms, images, emotions and experiences are real to him or her. Saying things like "It's not as bad as you think", "Don't be such a baby" and "Let it go" do not help! In fact, they often make the situation worse. Remember that the person with PTSD has a different perception, feeling and thinking. Empathy, or at least abstaining from criticism, is very important to prevent the person with PTSD from actually moving further away from you.

If you find it difficult to cope with the person with PTSD, it is advisable to seek support yourself. This can be in the form of a peer support group, but a close friend, loved one or a confidant at your work is also a possibility.

Don't lose sight of yourself. It is good that you are available for the other person, but you yourself are also important. If you don't take good care of yourself, you can't help the other person either. Regularly refueling and making time for yourself are important.

Understanding and patience: two things that can sometimes be difficult because you perceive the person with PTSD as unreasonable or difficult, or unable to understand properly. This is precisely when understanding and patience are important. The person with PTSD often has no control over their behavior and emotions, and there may be triggers everywhere that turn on the behavior or emotions.

Help create structure, rhythm and regularity: in your life together and in the life of the person with PTSD. Someone with PTSD usually has much less energy. And stimuli will affect the person more often and more severe. By looking at what you can do together, what you should do separately, which things to avoid because they are triggers, you create more peace, understanding and clarity between you two and in the living situation.

• Exposure to violence in a combat situation/war
• Childhood abuse
• Sexual abuse

PTSS is the Dutch term and stands for Post Traumatisch Stress Syndroom. PTSD is the English term and stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

PTSD is classified in the Handbook of classification of mental disorders. as a psychotrauma and stress-related disorder.

This question is not easy to answer. According to the Handbook of classification of mental disorders. stress-related disorder. Stress usually arises as a reaction to mental or emotional pressure. If you have high and/or prolonged stress, you may experience the following symptoms: increased irritability, sleep problems, fatigue symptoms, pain symptoms, mental symptoms.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is caused by persistent and/or excessive worry about something. The anxiety may persist even though the trigger is no longer there. Anxiety can cause the same symptoms as stress, though. 

The Handbook of Classification of Mental Disorders did previously classify PTSD as an anxiety disorder, but so that has since changed to a stress-related disorder. Stress and anxiety are close to each other and can interact reciprocally.

If you look up the definition of illness you will find the following definitions, among others:

• malfunction of one or more of the organs
• illness is a physical or mental condition that interferes with a living being's normal functioning

Both are true of PTSD so that allows you to classify PTSD as an illness.

To answer this question, it is first necessary to define what a disorder and a personality disorder are.

You speak of a disorder when a person has one or more psychological symptoms (think depression, anxiety or burnout, for example) and recognizes these symptoms as not his normal functioning.
An example: a person has burnout. He recognizes and acknowledges that he has burnout, he is aware that he can no longer function normally, and he sees a difference from how he functioned before.

In a personality disorder, the person has one or more personality traits that are magnified; for example, extreme insecurity, jealousy, self-esteem, perfectionism or anger. Often the person himself does not see that he has a problem. The magnifications hinder the person in daily life; he cannot function smoothly with and in his environment.

PTSD is not a personality disorder. However, a person with PTSD can have a personality disorder. Also, the symptoms of PTSD and a personality disorder can overlap. Someone with PTSD is more likely to have a personality disorder than someone without PTSD.

Yes

PTSD leads to profound psychological and physiological (relating relate to functions in the body) reactions. It is not possible to delete the event or the memory of the event from the brain.

A distinction is made between acute PTSD and chronic PTSD, where acute PTSD means that the symptoms usually last 1 - 2 months and with chronic PTSD the symptoms last more than three months.

I find it difficult to answer this question unequivocally, because every person is different and experiences and processes things in their own way, within their own frame of reference. It may be that you no longer experience symptoms or that they have faded away, but that they are suddenly triggered again by an incident, location or something else. In addition, there are people, including myself, who experience symptoms throughout their lives. In both cases, this is because it is stored somewhere in the brain.
The type of trauma, the duration of the trauma, the age at which it occurred also affect the PTSD.

Thus, it is difficult to say whether PTSD is by definition chronic. It is true, however, that if PTSD is left untreated, the symptoms can get much worse and longer, possibly for life.

PTSD can occur after you have had a one-time or long-term traumatic experience that you experienced as highly stressful, frightening or distressing. Examples of traumatic experiences include:

• Experiencing or seeing a severe accident
• Personally experiencing or eyewitnessing physical or sexual abuse
• Personally experiencing or eyewitnessing abuse, including child abuse or domestic violence
• Exposure to or eyewitnessing of traumatic events at work
• Suffering from severe health problems, including intensive care admissions
• Childbirth in which for example the child dies, is seriously injured or disabled
• The death of someone close to you
• Experiencing or witnessing war, violence, terrorist attack or torture

• PTSD can cause a permanent change in the brain. The stress caused by trauma can have a huge impact on the brain. A number of areas of the brain are touched during a stress reaction, including:
• the amygdala - this is the alarm button in the brain that is activated in the face of danger. In people who have PTSD, the amygdala is hyperactive and thus reacts much more frequently than average
• the hippocampus - this part is, among other things, responsible for storing and retrieving memories. In addition, it can distinguish between past and present experiences. With people who have PTSD, the hippocampus may be smaller than with people who do not have PTSD
• the prefrontal cortex - this is the part of the brain that regulates emotions and should bring calm back to the brain after a stress reaction. With people that have PTSD, the prefrontal cortex does not work as well as it should, causing the brain to not calm down sufficiently or not at all.

Apart from changes in the structure of the brain, PTSD also affects chemical processes in the brain. This has to do with:

• hormones (these are substances produced in the body that control organs and tissues through the bloodstream to regulate various bodily functions
• neurotransmitters (these are substances that pass signals, mainly nerve impulses, in the brain between nerve cells or muscle cells. 

PTSD can cause some hormones to be produced too much or too little. In addition, the functioning of neurotransmitters can be affected. Someone with PTSD has more frequent and more severe stress reactions, so the impact in the brain is greater than in someone who does not have PTSD. If you want to read more about the impact of PTSD on the brain, read this post.

has a lot of impact on the physical body. For example, people with PTSD are more likely to have cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease. In addition, the continuous stress present in the head and body can cause a multitude of other complaints, such as: problems with your immune system, digestive problems, problems with your blood pressure, pain problems.

The above description is not exhaustive. Each person with PTSD may experience a variation of the symptoms described and/or other symptoms. It is good to consider with each complaint you have whether it may be linked to PTSD or whether it is a unique, stand-alone complaint.

If you suffer from a cold, it may be a one-off. But if it keeps coming back, whether or not in combination with frequent watering eyes and cavities that are clogged or inflamed, it may be because your system is constantly under pressure. You may then be able to seek a solution for your complaint, but it is then also good to be aware that you may not be able to resolve the complaint completely if at all, because the cause is not a virus or bacteria but something else, namely the PTSD. 

From personal experience I now know that many of the symptoms I have are not isolated, but are related to PTSD. This did take me many years and a lot of research. Also because many doctors are used to looking only in their own specialty and not making connections with other things.

PTSD results from exposure to actual or imminent death, serious injury or sexual assault. It can occur in a variety of ways:

• Because you undergo the event itself.
• Because you witness the event.
• Because you have repeatedly experienced or been exposed to a psychotraumatic event.

There must be demonstrable/visible suffering and/or impairment in social interaction with others.

There are various types of PTSD:

• Acute PTSD
• Singular PTSD
• PTSD with dissociative symptoms
• Chronic PTSD
• Complex PTSD
• Comorbid PTSD

If you have complex PTSD (C-PTSD), apart from the PTSD symptoms, you have problems with:

• your self-esteem and self-image
• social interaction with other people - think of maintaining and preserving (friendship and love) relationships
• regulating your emotions.

If you don't treat (C)PTSD, it can become life-threatening, both physically and mentally. Physically because (C)PTSD puts you at greater risk for:

• cardiovascular disorders
• chronic sleep deprivation/problems
• problems with your immune system
• chronic pains
• stomach, intestinal and digestive complaints

Psychologically, you are more at risk of:

• depressions
• anxiety disorders
• a burn-out
• addictions
• suicidal feelings

PTSD occurs after a traumatic experience. But not everyone who undergoes a traumatic experience develops PTSD. It is, among others, influenced by a person's personality, upbringing/childhood, a history of previous traumatic experiences, does a person use or has used narcotics in the past and does the person have past or ongoing mental illnesses.