Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

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are when an individual dos whatever they can to avoid the traumatic event they went through, such as not going to a location reminding them of the location the event occurred at. They also might avoid scents or sounds reminding them of the event. Like avoidance symptoms, numbing symptoms are also symptoms in which the victim tries to avoid reminders of the traumatic event. The difference between the two is that a numbing symptom would be when the victim avoids the thought of the event by isolating himself from other people. Numbing symptoms may also be when the victim has a hard time remembering or speaking about certain parts of the event, or they may have a hard time getting in touch or expressing their feelings. (Darity, 2012).

Besides the three main types of symptoms those diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will experience, there are other symptoms someone may experience, two of those would be symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Depression is the most common co-occurring symptom in women. Depression is the second most common co-occurring symptom in men, and also equally experience conduct disorder. More than half of men with PTSD also experience alcohol problems, which is man’s most common co-symptom. Additionally, men with PTSD are more likely to struggle with drug abuse than women with PTSD are. Statistics show that substance abuse is a very common co-symptom in both men and woman, but can be treated and reduced.

A study from the fall of 2016 reveals a possible link between African-American women who live in impoverished neighborhoods and their chances in developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Seventy-two women were originally recruited for a study on the impact of mindful techniques on reducing stress and depressions symptoms, but Inger Burnett-Zeigler, the study’s senior author who is a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, noticed that trauma and PTSD were very prevalent. Therefore, they did some extra research on their findings and conducted a secondary analysis. The researchers discovered that half of the women had been in a traumatic event that either had very violent or sexual natures (Thometz, 2016). One of the women saw her son get shot ten times, and then dying due to the tragedy. Three of the women couldn’t continue on with their stories because of the intense emotions they began to feel, which is a sign of PTSD. The research concluded that 71% of the women in the experiment have had symptoms of PTSD due to trauma. Burnett-Zeigler added at the end of his research that health care providers should especially assess for trauma in vulnerable communities, because that is where PTSD stems from the most (Thometz, 2016).

Numerous types of treatment can be done to at least slightly relieve an individual diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from their symptoms, but what about preventing PTSD as a whole? A current study is being conducted with evidence proving that dogs should be deployed with military units to reduce the severity of PTSD. In fact, there is also evidence showing that being around dogs can be considered as treatment for any stage of PTSD (Segal, 2016). One specific piece of evidence is the story given by a Navy psychologist named Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft, who was deployed with the U.S. Marines. She encountered a marine who was struggling with depression and PTSD, who thought that her future was “hopeless” and she spoke of “falling asleep and never waking up”. The marine was expected to have to be sent stateside in the middle of her deployment because of her state, even though she was going through all standard treatments for PTSD, but none seemed to be working. Then, one day the marine went to visit Kraft; she appeared to be happy and exclaimed that her unit had adopted a puppy. She was able to complete her full deployment after the puppy was adopted, and her symptoms subsided a lot (the other treatment wasn’t able to benefit the marine’s health, but interaction the dog helped). Other examples of dogs being adopted by the marines for therapeutic reasons have been heard by Kraft ever since then, and the benefits of adopting these dogs into all these units have been helping individuals with PTSD and other types of disorders greatly. For example, two dogs were sent to Iraq in 2007 and were able to accompany many soldiers when needed and served as a type of icebreaker between medical practitioners and soldiers. Additionally, patients are more willing to engage with other prescribed drugs and therapies with the addition of the canines (Segal, 2016). A downside the the idea to deploy dogs would be the costs the military would have to pay. Payments would have to be made to train, groom, feed house, transport and provide veterinary care for the dogs. But, it is still too early to form an economic case for a benefit of bringing the dogs into the units.

The main types of treatment for PTSD are psychotherapy and medication, but a type of treatment’s success rate can differ between people because all people will react to the treatments differently. First of all, the main type of medication for treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is antidepressants, which controls PTSD symptoms such as anger, sadness, and worry. Antidepressants balance chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters) that affect mood and emotion and are highly effective. Although, they do have a large amount of side effects such as insomnia, nausea, increased appetite/ weight gain, constipation, dry mouth, etc. There are other types of medication that can be helpful for treating PTSD too, such as a drug called cyclobenzaprine. A study was done on cyclobenzaprine with 245 participants, around half were given a lower dosage of 2.8mg, while the others were given a higher dosage of 5.6mg. The study period was twelve weeks long, and at the end of the period it was shown that the participants with the lower dosage did not experience any benefits when it came to reduction of PTSD symptoms. This had proven that the cyclobenzaprine was a success (Oakes, 2016). Another helpful medication is Prazosin, which helps with sleep problems (particularly nightmares, which is a very common symptom of PTSD).

Speech therapy, or psychotherapy, is when a mental health professional speaks with the patient to treat a mental illness. Generally, psychotherapy lasts 6 to 12 weeks, but it can last longer due to certain circumstances. Also, psychotherapy can be one-on-one, or can be done in a group. Therapists or doctors speaking with the patient may start up conversations about the individual’s life, such as their occupation or family, which is what a standard psychotherapy session would be like. But, there are specialized psychotherapies that are specifically for people who suffer from PTSD (any type