Preview

PTSD

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2790 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
PTSD
Jenn Bowers
Mrs. Post
English IV
23 October 2013
PTSD; The Battle Wounds You Can’t See “I engaged the enemy in numerous gun battles. I was close to someone that was killed or injured. Fear and death were all around me. The military even had me plan for my own death I was numb inside. When I returned home, did you really expect me to pick up from where I left off?” (Combat PTSD) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the most overlooked stressed related diseases of all time. PTSD can affect anyone after an event or a series of events that threatens your life or others; causing intense fear, horror, and since of hopelessness. People who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can often have a short attention span, making them unable to sit for long periods of time. Victims of PTSD find it hard to stay focused on normal, everyday activities. Almost anything can trigger an anxiety attack. PTSD affects the mind, causing a victim to be on constant edge. People with PTSD often find themselves feeling as if they are re-living a traumatic event, causing them to be unable to focus on the present. PTSD is a whole body tragedy inside humans that causes enormous difficulties in everyday life. My uncle, who is a retired United States Navy Veteran, spent 25 years traveling around the world and in many war situations. He finds himself getting side tracked all the time. There are many times he finds himself in situations he doesn’t remember getting himself into. One second he is working on paying bills, then the next he is staring into space, not thinking at all. He told me that he use to think it was impossible to not think at all. Yet, it is common when you have a mental disease that controls your life. Everyone has their own priorities to worry about, their own problems they need to block out; but with PTSD the exhaustion does it for them. Victims of PTSD find the numbness that comes with being exhausted normal. They live in chaos that only exists in their head.



Cited: David. "Brain Affected in Ptsd." CNSforum. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. <http://www.cnsforum.com/imagebank/item/Neuro_biol_PTSD/default.aspx>. O’Hara, Andy. "NATIONAL CENTER for PTSD Home." NATIONAL CENTER for PTSD Home. Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.ptsd.va.gov/>. Schirald, Glenn. "The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery, and Growth [Paperback]." The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery, and Growth: Glenn Schiraldi: 9780071614948: Amazon.com: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.amazon.com/The-Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder-Sourcebook/dp/007161494X>. Print Wood, David. “Combat Veterans With PTSD, Anger Issues More Likely To Commit Crimes: New Report, “The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Oct. 2012. Web. 28. 2013

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Health, I. ,. (2009). PTSD: A growing epidemic. Retrieved from National Institute of health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/winter09/articles/winter09pg10-14.html…

    • 1302 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ptsd in the Vietnam War

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as an anxiety disorder that can occur after being exposed to a traumatic experience like combat, terrorist attack, or child/sexual abuse. (National) Most times that PTSD is developed are in the time of war. The reason it is developed more during the time of war is because these people are exposed to most of the types of trauma that will cause PTSD. Not every person involved in the war develops PTSD though because the development of PTSD depends on how intense the trauma was, how long it lasted, if the person was injured, if they lost someone important, or how much support they received after the event. (National) After an event has happened, the person involved is given a screening exam to see if they have PTSD. The main things the doctors look for in the exam are symptoms of PTSD. Some of the symptoms of PTSD include, reliving the event, avoiding situations that resemble the event, feeling numb, and feeling keyed up. (National) Along with the PTSD, some other problems may occur. These problems include feelings of hopelessness, depression, and drinking or drug problems. There are…

    • 1386 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    PTSD affects not only the mind, but the body as well. PTSD is an intense mental illness; it is the exposure to death, injury, sexual violence, crime and any horrific life changing event. Many veterans acquire PTSD from anything war related (Piotrowski 1). The reason military…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hca 240 Week 8

    • 1842 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that develops after a traumatic event. PTSD has also been called shell shock or battle fatigue. The exact cause of PTSD is unknown. PTSD is triggered by exposure to a traumatic event. Situations in which a person feels intense fear, helplessness, or horror are considered traumatic. PTSD has been reported in people who experienced: War,…

    • 1842 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD have difficulty adjusting to the civilian world and interacting with people who have not experienced stress in a combat zone. For instance, Alfred Korzybski, a WWI combat veteran, suffered insomnia and constantly believed airplanes that were flying above him would bomb him (Levinson). Oftentimes, PTSD victims experience shifts from…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Military Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health disorder that must be better understood by the military. PTSD, battle fatigue, shell shock, and several other phrases describe a condition that has been observed in war veterans for centuries. In Achilles in Vietnam, Jonathan Shay studied veterans of the Vietnam War with PTSD and explained the similarities between these veterans and Achilles in the book The Iliad. PTSD is triggered by traumatic events that result in symptoms that can lead to very bad behavioral problems. Without proper awareness and understanding of how to identify and treat the disorder, many veterans will have difficulty functioning normally in society.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    PTSD is a growing problem. Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who exhibit symptoms of PTSD have been the focus of intensive study. PTSD is characterized by soldiers undergoing great emotional upheaval and the feeling that their soul has been shattered. The effects of this disorder can be widespread: nightmares, headaches, flashbacks, withdrawing from people, profound sadness, anxiety, anger, guilt, fatigue, pessimism, sexual problems, and…

    • 2188 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    PTSD In Vietnam

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A large number of people encounter daily stress in their lives but it does not mount to the stress of living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. People who suffer with this condition live their everyday lives with constant fear of the past. Most cannot deal with this transition after experiencing a tragic event causing them to seek out help from others, hence they cannot do it alone. Many Vietnam War veterans experienced tragedies and witnessed emotionally disturbing events leading them to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by the re-experiencing of an extremely traumatic event accompanied by symptoms of increased arousal and by avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma . Cowley says that PTSD is as old as war but it did not become an official diagnosis until the 1980’s. PTSD’s causes are still murky and…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wounded Veterans

    • 1614 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), often known as combat stress, is an anxiety disorder which happens after being exposed to a traumatic life event. ("Make the connection,") Being sent into battle where bombs are set off at random and guns’ being fired toward a soldier’s direction is a great environment to obtain PTSD.…

    • 1614 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has become a rising mental disorder among both male and female veterans. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also called PTSD for short, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event in which physical or mental harm may have occurred. Events such as wartime situations, violent attacks, serious accidents, and terrorist incidents can all play a part in the increase of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder cases. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can have many negative effects on the individual’s life, such as personal relationships, potential health problems, and having a successful career.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post-traumatic stress disorder, according to WebMD, is a condition in which a person has gone through or seen a life-altering or a terrifying event either physically or emotionally (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder). For normal people, after something traumatic happens, they experience shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and guilt. For them, that feeling goes away after a short period of time. People who suffer with PTSD, those feelings last on…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom In The Civil War

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fear triggers many changes in the body to defend against what is causing the fear or try to avoid the object causing the fear. But when having post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the reaction to fear is changed or impaired. Those diagnosed with PTSD may feel terrified or stressed when there is not anything around to be feared. Most soldiers think as soon as they get back home all they have to do is heal and put the war behind them but most of them cant. Many soldier whether they wish to or not bring back a piece of the war with them. Many cases in PTSD the individual has recurring distressing memories, flashbacks, upsetting dreams about the incident, or certain reactions to something that reminds them about the incident. In addition to the individual suffering from PTSD the family also…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ptsd Treatments

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages

    PTSD is a type of an anxiety disorder. It might occur after having a traumatic experience that involves injury or death. There are three categories for the symptoms of PTSD. There is reliving, avoidance, and arousal. In reliving symptoms you have flashbacks, frequent memories of the event, nightmares of the event and, reactions to situations that remind you of the event. For avoidance symptoms you feel emotional "numbing," or feeling like you don't care about anything anymore, feeling separated, being unable to remember important aspects of the trauma, be short of interest in normal activities, avoid places, people, or thoughts that remind you of the event and, feel like you have no future. The last type of symptoms is arousal. For arousal symptoms you have hard times concentrating, you are startled easily, you over exaggerate things when you are startled, you get angry and have outburst, and have troubles with falling or staying asleep at night. There is a variety of events that can cause PTSD. Assault, domestic abuse, a prison stay, rape, terrorism, war and etc. can cause PTSD. PTSD can occur at any age and to anyone who experienced a traumatic event. PTSD is becoming quite common because of the war that we are going through and all the violence in the world.…

    • 2199 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Speech

    • 909 Words
    • 3 Pages

    PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as the military combat, natural disasters, terrorism incidents, or any major tragedy. This is common in the life of veterans and is the leading cause of suicide among veterans. A VA patient who survived in Baghdad shares his experience with PTSD and explains how he knew he had this disability. Many veterans speak out about this issue and describe their continuous anger, alcohol addiction, and constantly wanted to fight. They usually feel very isolated and distant from their loved ones. One patient states, “PTSD involves rocketing into extreme states of stress re-activity; in the form of terror, rage, and uncontrollable impulses, and plunging into equally extreme states of being shut-down—exhaustion, emotional numbing, despair, and dissociation”. PTSD is about having fear and anxiety, allowing veterans to rage with anger and different emotion. There are many factors to PTSD, which affects others in different ways; or example, using video games to keep them occupied, spending money due to the lack of impulse control because of changes in their brain, and even not obtaining another job.…

    • 909 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays