“We cannot control the wind; we can only adjust the sails.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after people have experienced or witnessed:
- a natural or man-made disaster
- a serious accident
- a terrorist incident
- sudden death of a loved one
- war
- violent personal assault such as rape
- childhood abuse
- a life-threatening illness
- military combat
- or other life-threatening events
In sum, a trauma is an unexpected, unpreventable event for which the person experiencing it is unprepared. It is not so much the event that determines whether something is traumatic to someone, but the person’s experience of the event. Most people who experience such events recover from them, but people with PTSD continue to be severely depressed and anxious for months or even years following the event. Posttraumatic stress disorder is characterized by three main types of symptoms:
- re-experiencing the trauma through intrusive distressing recollections of the event, flashbacks, and nightmares
- emotional numbness and avoidance of places, people, and activities that are reminders of the trauma
- increased arousal such as difficulty sleeping and concentrating, feeling jumpy, and being easily irritated and angered
PTSD often occurs with depression, substance abuse, or other anxiety disorders.
You can read more about PTSD at my trauma page or the National Institute of Mental Health (www.nimh.nih.gov) and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (www.adaa.org) websites. I have extensive experience with PTSD and would like to talk with you about your situation.
Please call me at 603-448-3588. You may also use my e-mail and my address is Karen@Psychologist-NH.com.