PTSD
Hi all welcome back to my blog, I hope everyone is having a great week. I’ve really enjoyed creating this mental health awareness series, its an empowering thing for me when I research and learn more,, also digging into my own experiences and sharing them in the hope it will help someone. Its so important I feel to share knowledge and personal experiences about this subject in order to help others and great rid of the stigma.
So iv found that most people tend to take all types of mental health illness and lump them all together as if they’re that same thing which is not true, there may be shared symptoms but they’re not the same, this is why people often don’t seek treatment or get the right treatment. So I wanted to go through some disorders that iv seen this happen with to give a better understanding.I’m going to go through what it is, what the symptoms are, reasons it can occur, treatments and self-help tips. I find doing this and breaking it down and simplifying it makes it easier to understand and makes the subject less intimidating.
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
This is a serious mental health condition that can happy to anyone at any age. People can develop this condition after suffering a trauma, shock or dangerous event occurring in the lives.
If something extremely traumatic happens to you, whether it be a scary event, suffering a shocking lose or witnessing a terrifying accident its very common to struggle with a form of anxiety, depression or sadness. It can occur straight away or even years later it can be triggered by a memory, place or object that brings it back.
The event plays on your mind and the emotions connected with it making it really hard to function, which causes the symptoms of PTSD. This can take its toll on every aspect of life.
When you suffer a shock or trauma your body goes into fight or flight mode, it releases stress hormones to give you a burst of energy, this causes your brain to get stuck in danger mode even when the event has passed and your no longer in danger. When the memory of the trauma is triggered your body sends out stress signals which lead to PTSD symptoms.
There are a lot of effects of PTSD- Flashbacks, trouble sleeping, numbness, angry outburst, also feelings of guilt. People tend to avoid things or places that remind them of the event.
Without treatment you can suffer from PTSD for the rest of your life, it can interfere with your daily life, people who suffer find it really hard to trust others, communicate or maintain relationships.
Working in a profession that exposes you to trauma can also cause PTSD, this is what happened to me, I was so used to my environment I was almost robotic in dealing with illness and dead that I never realized the effect it was having on me until it was triggered and there isn’t an off switch.
There isn’t a cure for PTSD but it can be treated successfully with therapy or and medication depending on the individual. With proper treatment, you can stop the symptom or lessen them. There are other things you can do to help yourself like exercise and deep breathing can help relieve anxiety. try doing things/ activities that you enjoy and are relaxing, its a great distraction. The more you learn and are aware of what your triggers are it will make it easier, you’ll be able to be proactive. Find what works for you in relieving your symptoms so it doesn’t start to control your life and how you live.
Thank you so much for checking out my blog I really appreciate it and I hope it helps. Leave me comments and let me know what you think and let me know of topics you’d like me to cover. If you would like blog updates please subscribe. xx Paula xx