Post Traumatic Stress

The most recent scientific evidence suggests that many of the symptoms a person
experiences for the first month after a trauma are normal. These symptoms can include
sleep disturbance, decreased concentration, anxiety, sadness, anger, irritability,
hypervigilence, re-experiencing of traumatic events, and disruptions in social and
work related functioning.

Symptoms that persist beyond four weeks following a trauma and that may be indicative
of a post traumatic stress disorder are as follows:

• Recurrent and intrusive recollections of trauma.
  
• Recurrent distressing dreams of the trauma.
  
• Acting or feeling as if the trauma is recurring.
  
• Intense psychological distress and/or physiological reactivity upon exposure to
  cues that resemble the traumatic event.
  
• Efforts to avoid anything associated with the trauma.
  
• Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities.
  
• Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others.
  
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
  
• Irritability or anger
  
• Hypervigilance
  
• Exaggerated startle responses
  

Exposure therapy and cognitive therapy are two recommended therapies considered
effective for PTSD. Exposure therapy for PTSD involves a gradual and graded
confrontation of images and situations associated with the trauma that are avoided
because of the anxiety they elicit. Recent researchestabli shing the importance of
cognitive factors in the development and persistence of PTSD support Cognitive Therapy
approaches for PTSD that test beliefs about the long term effects of the trauma and
that help the person to organize and complete their memory of the trauma.
(Ehlers & Clark, 2000.) These procedures appear to help individuals with PTSD to
process and appraise the traumatic experience in a more integrated and less distressing
manner.