Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Myths, Misconceptions and Treatments

Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that is very often misunderstood. Typically associated with war veterans, PTSD can however affect people of any age from all walks of life. PTSD affects people who have been through a severe traumatic event or events such as child abuse, sexual assault, a violent crime, car accident, domestic abuse or a natural disaster. Not everyone who has been through a traumatic event will develop PTSD, but those who do can experience frightening and sometimes disabling symptoms. There is now some evidence that PTSD symptoms are an abnormal response to stress and that the symptoms arise when residual energy from the event fails to be discharged from the body. According to trauma authority Dr. Peter Levine, it is believed that the energy is trapped in the nervous system and creates terrible distress on the body and mind, thus causing the symptoms of this disorder.

Everyone has a built-in defensive mechanism that tells their bodies and minds when to respond to threatening situations. Often referred to as "fight or flight", this mechanism helps us respond to and resolve anything that feels dangerous to us. But for those with PTSD this mechanism works on overtime, the trauma remains unresolved and the person may end up feeling isolated and helpless. Symptoms of PTSD range from mild to severe and much of it depends on the length and severity of the traumatic event or events, how soon after the trauma they were diagnosed and treated and the person's support system of family and friends. However this outline is not written in stone for PTSD is a very complex disorder and even if two of the same people were exposed to the same trauma, they can both have completely different levels of reaction.