Post-traumatic stress disorder is a description of the emotional and psychological trauma that can often follow the witness or experience of a life-threatening or otherwise exceptionally fearsome event, often including the witness of injury, death, or other emotionally violent circumstances. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder frequently follow episodes of sexual abuse or violent rape, and can torment a victim for years after the end of the actual incident.
Frequently a victim of post-traumatic stress will do whatever he or she is able to repress the memories of the trigger event, both outwardly and inwardly. This may mean that the symptoms are at first very subtle as the victim does what he or she can to proceed with a normal life in the wake of exceptional circumstances. While symptoms will usually appear within the first months following the incident as the victim is given time to dwell upon the matter, these symptoms may not actually be exhibited apparently for many months or years, making it more difficult for an observer to diagnose the condition than for a victim to self-diagnose. However, as frequently victims of the disorder are children, self-diagnosis may not be possible, and it may be up to a parent or other close individual to identify the condition.
Symptoms of the condition relate most closely to those of severe stress or depression, and tend to include signs of severe anxiety and/or detachment. While these may seem to be contradictory symptoms, the expression of the disorder is highly varied upon the individual. Victims may respond to a traumatic memory by dwelling upon it, or they may react by shutting out life altogether. Especially in response to more severe trauma, victims may potentially be suicidal, and intervention may be in order. Physical symptoms may arise as well, including chronic headache, dizziness, or digestive pain or disorder.
Survivor guilt is often experienced in response to trauma involving the death of another, and can be reinforced by the nature of the personal relationship between the survivor and the deceased. The term describes guilt experienced by those who survive a traumatic incident, characterized often by feelings of unworthiness or regret, mingled with remorse for the loss of the deceased. Feelings of ambivalence toward survival can cause great distress and depression in a victim of post-traumatic stress, and may lead to the production of a very unstable emotional state marked by extreme feelings of helplessness.
One reason that treatment is often unsought by victims of the condition is that virtually any address or discussion of the offending trauma is bound to be quite painful, and stirs in the victim memories and emotions tied back to the event. This makes the need for outside help all the more significant for those who do not recognize their disorder or who may be afraid to seek treatment. If you suspect a friend or loved one may be afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder in response to a traumatic event, it may do you well to speak to him or her on the matter, or to consult a professional to discuss the likelihood of diagnosis and alternatives for potential treatment.
