Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Types, Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

If you have experienced a traumatic episode in life, you will have common reactions such as anger, shock, fear, guilt or nervousness. Although these reactions go away with time, for some, they continue to haunt their mind. If you have PTSD, these symptoms might increase and become stronger, hampering your normal life. 

Read this article to get an idea of post-traumatic stress disorder and learn its types, causes, symptoms and treatment methods.

A serious mental health condition, also known as battle fatigue syndrome or shell shock, post-traumatic stress disorder happens if you have witnessed an extreme traumatic episode or have been a part of it. The symptoms will continue to haunt your mind, including uncontrollable thoughts, disturbance during sleep, flashbacks of the episode, nightmares, extreme stress and anxiety.

While most people, with proper treatment and self-care, tend to cope and manage their thoughts after a certain time, symptoms might worsen for many. This will hamper your daily activities as the symptoms last for months and sometimes years.

The most common types of PTSD include:

1. Normal Stress Response

This trait is more like a panic attack and happens before you notice the symptoms of PTSD. An additional symptom is an intense reaction to a traumatic event which you can cope with if you share it with your family and friends. They will support you to come out of it as well. It is a temporary condition that can be curbed through regular sessions and therapies within three weeks to a month.

2. Acute Stress Disorder

This condition doesn't follow a similar pattern to post-traumatic stress disorder but might appear if the traumatic episode caused harm and threatened your life. For example, it can happen if you have witnessed domestic abuse, an act of violence in a public place, or a natural disaster. If you do not undergo treatment, it can enhance the symptoms causing extreme PTSD. An ideal way to treat this trait is through counselling sessions and therapies.

3. Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

If you witness multiple traumatic events or if you were a part of the event, you can experience symptoms of complex PTSD. Victims of domestic abuse or violence and those who have seen horrific deaths have this trait. Well, treating this trait is challenging as there are certain behavioural changes and disorders that come alongside. This includes extreme anger, depression, fear and panic, ignorance, etc. The only ways to treat this trait are counselling, regular therapies, proper emotional support and medication.

4. Uncomplicated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

One of the less complex traits of PTSD, this trait is seen in people who have witnessed one traumatic episode. Since doctors can point out the episode, treatment is faster as they are able to understand the reasons for the behavioural changes. Symptoms of this trait include sudden flashbacks from the traumatic episode, irritation, frustration and nightmares. The methods of treatment include therapies and medications.

5. Comorbid Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

A blanket term, this trait consists of underlying substance abuse used to calm down the signs. You can notice symptoms of this trait when you have one or more than one mental health disorders. To treat this disorder, your doctor works on both - the substance abuse and the traumatic event that caused such symptoms.

The symptoms of PTSD appear within three months of the episode. However, the severity of the disorder might vary from person to person. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are as follows:

1. Intrusive Memories

A major symptom of this disorder is when unwanted, disturbing memories of the traumatic episode continue to haunt you. Additionally, you get frequent flashbacks of the events, followed by nightmares and hallucinations. You also have anxiety and feel stressed overthinking the episode.

2. Negative Thoughts

Due to the incidents, negative thoughts about other people or even yourself might haunt you repeatedly. As a result, you may feel depressed about your future, find it challenging to experience positive emotions, and feel detached from your close ones. In addition, you will also find it quite difficult to maintain close relationships as you become numb emotionally. This will further lead to a lack of interest in indulging in activities.

3. Self-destructive

You might always feel fearful and in danger. This will lead to trouble while you are sleeping, or you might feel trouble concentrating on things. Aggressive behaviour, irritation, feeling guilty or shameful, and sudden outbursts can also be certain symptoms. With this comes self-destructive behaviour, where you tend to harm yourself as you recollect incidents from the past.

Symptoms of PTSD in Children

If you have a child who is diagnosed with PTSD, you will notice signs and symptoms such as -

• Nightmares and disturbances in sleep.
• Delayed development in motor skills and communication.
• Not able to remember important aspects of life.

Although the exact reason for PTSD is unknown, doctors believe that PTSD happens due to a mix of several mental health issues. However, PTSD can develop if you have experienced prolonged traumatic episodes. Here are the possible causes of PTSD:

• Extreme stressful episodes caused severe trauma.
• Family history of depression, stress and anxiety or genetic mental health disorders.
• Too much temperament, unable to control and accept challenging situations.
• Physical and sexual abuse, often repeated episodes, can cause trauma to the victim.
• Losing a baby or other childbirth experiences that were not positive.
• Childhood abuse, domestic abuse and violence.
• Death of a close one, breaking of relationships.
• Extreme torture (physical and mental abuse).
• Exposure to problematic events at the workplace.
• Serious health issues, such as hospitalisation and near-to-death experiences.

The risk factors of PTSD are listed below:

• If you have experienced abuse or trauma earlier in life (childhood) that you have not shared with others.
• Experiencing severe and long-lasting fear due to the episodes like experiences of an accident or unnatural death of some loved one.
• If you have a job, that is risky as it exposes you more to traumatic events. This includes military jobs.
• It might be risky if you have anxiety attacks, stress, or other mental health disorders.
• Excessive drug use or consumption of alcohol can cause a risk of PTSD.
• If you do not have anyone to share or lack a good support system who will understand your feelings.
•  If you have been threatened with a weapon.

To diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, your physician will perform the following procedures:

• Conduct a physical examination to check if you have any other medical issues triggering this disorder.

• You may then undergo a psychological test where your doctor will discuss the issues you are experiencing and the trauma that happened and try to understand the change in your behavioural patterns.

• Your therapist assesses whether you were directly involved in the events or you witnessed someone going through the episode. Your doctor will also ask if you heard someone going through a trauma.

After going through all these assessments and tests, your doctor will determine the severity of the disorder and recommend therapy and medication accordingly.

Through possible treatment options, you can control and manage your negative thoughts. Treatment procedures include psychotherapy and medications. Doctors undergo several ways of treatment of PTSD. Here they are in detail:

1. Medications

• Doctors prescribe antidepressants to control feelings of anxiety and depression. These include – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Fluvoxamine and Sertraline.
• They also prescribe tricyclic antidepressants such as Isocarboxazid and Amitriptyline.
• Doctors prescribe antipsychotics, namely Quetiapine and Aripiprazole, and mood stabilisers Lamotrigine and Divalproex.
• To help control the recalling of traumatic memories, doctors prescribe propranolol.

Well, some medications might come with certain side effects. Therefore, you must consult a doctor whenever you face certain side effects. Also, remember to mention any other medical issue that you have.

2. Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy effectively treats PTSD since it involves guiding you to the exact ways to manage and control your symptoms. This form of treatment includes the following:

• Cognitive Therapy or Talk Therapy: It helps you to understand more about yourself and teaches you the ways how you can keep yourself away from negative thoughts about yourself. As you learn about yourself, you tend to change the behavioural patterns that can cause harm to you.
• Exposure Therapy: It is another wonderful treatment method where you must face the situations and memories that haunt you frequently. Your therapist will do this in a safe and well-controlled environment. As you gradually confront your fears and nightmares, you tend to cope with the situations. These are done through virtual reality sessions.
• Psychodynamic Therapy: Through psychodynamic therapy, the person can assess their values and repeated emotional stress due to the traumatic episode.
• Family Therapy: You can share your feelings and thoughts with your close ones through family and group therapy. You can also share it with people who have undergone similar incidents in life. This will help in the reduction of fears. 
• EMDR: EMDR, or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy, comes with a combination of exposure therapy and certain eye movements that helps you to cope with unwanted memories from the past.

3. Home Remedies

• Try to follow a proper treatment plan and regularly visit a therapist to discuss your thoughts. In addition, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, follow a proper diet and relax as much as possible.
• Try practising mindfulness which is extremely beneficial in controlling post-traumatic stress disorder. This includes staying focused and managing your thoughts which helps to reduce negative thoughts.
• Try to focus on your hobbies, read books and listen to music. However, if you experience serious social detachment, try seeking help from support groups which helps you to manage your symptoms.

It is necessary to diagnose this disorder at an early stage so that doctors can start treating you early as well. You must immediately see a doctor when you face the following issues, and they are persistent:

• Negative effects on your relationships when your close ones start misunderstanding you.
• Nightmares, suicidal thoughts, and hallucinations are persistent.
• Your physical and mental condition deteriorates day by day.
• You behave violently or aggressively with other people.
• Hampering your flow of work.

In the case of children, as they are diagnosed with such disorders, they should be under serious treatment to prevent the condition from turning too complex.

The ways to manage and prevent PTSD includes:

• Learning about the disorder and being aware of the symptoms.
• Try to indulge in funny and pleasant activities.
• Try sharing your thoughts with your close ones or someone with a similar experience.
• Finally, avoid the consumption of drugs or alcohol.

So, now you must know all about post-traumatic stress disorder and the treatment process. However, the condition will deteriorate if you do not opt for proper treatment even after diagnosing the issue. Well, during your treatment procedure, do not forget to ask a question to your therapist, if any.