PTSD 101

PTSD 101 Intro

If you just need a 30-second summary or refresher, I've excerpted the intro from a true expert, Dr. Frank Ochberg (in italics):

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PTSD is three reactions at once, all caused by an event that terrifies, horrifies or renders one helpless. The triad of disabling responses is:

1. recurring intrusive recollections;

2. emotional numbing and constriction of life activity and,

3. a physiological shift in the fear threshold, affecting sleep, concentration, and sense of security.

 

By definition . . . this syndrome must last at least a month before PTSD can be diagnosed. Furthermore, a severe trauma must be evident and causally related to the cluster of symptoms. There are people who are fearful, withdrawn and plagued by episodes of vague, troubling sensations, but they cannot identify a specific traumatic precipitant. (Some clinicians assume this means abuse occurred and was repressed. The pattern of PTSD reactions thus may be used, illogically and erroneously, to "prove" a hidden trauma).

 

PTSD should only be diagnosed when an event of major dimension - a searing, stunning, haunting event - has clearly occurred and is relived, despite strenuous attempts to avoid the memory.

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Recurring, intrusive recollections

The core feature of PTSD, distinguishing the condition from anxiety or depression, is the unavoidable echo of the event, often vivid, occasionally so real that it is called a flashback or hallucination. The survivor of a plane crash feels a falling sensation, re-visualizes the moment of impact, then fears going crazy because his or her mind and body return uncontrollably to that harrowing scene.

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Read Dr. Ochberg's full PTSD 101.