2020: THE YEAR OF CHOAS
AND SUFFERINGS
The world is still suffering from the pandemic of COVID-19 with more than hundred thousands of people dead in USA alone.
The law and order situation
is becoming pretty bad day by day after the incident of George Floyd, there is
a complete chaos and terror among people.
The attack of locust is a disaster
for many agricultural countries stealing the livelihood of poor farmers.
The plane crash in residential area of Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan which
caused more than 100 causalities with all the bodies completely burned and
disfigured is a great disaster for nation and particularly a state of grieve
and shock for the relatives of deceased passengers.
Some days ago, aresidential building in the city of Karachi, Pakistan collapsed killing more
than 10 people and destroying homes of dozens of residents living there.
CycloneNisarga hit the western coast of India, causing damage in the state of
Maharashtra.
THE MONTH OF PTSD
AWARENESS
The month of June is
observed as PTSD Awareness Month, and I guess this year, it is most important
to aware the population about PTSD its symptoms and effect they can produce on
individual as well as collective life of a nation.
WHAT IS PTSD
Post-traumatic stress
disorder or PTSD can happen to a person after experiencing a traumatic event such
as natural disaster like earthquake or tornado, military combats, physical or
sexual assault, airplane crash or building collapse, the unexpected
death of a loved one or any other incident that has caused them to feel
fearful, shocked, or helpless. Even families of victims can also develop PTSD,
as can emergency personnel and rescue workers. It can have long-term effects,
including flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety.
WHAT DOES PTSD FEEL
LIKE?
People with PTSD feel an intensified
sense of danger. Their natural fight-or-flight
response is altered, causing them to feel stressed or fearful, even when they’re safe.
Most people who experience a traumatic event will have
reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt.
These reactions are common, and for most people, they go away over time. Whereas,
for a person with PTSD, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so
strong that they keep the person from living a normal life and disrupts their
normal day to day life.
Post-traumatic
stress disorder symptoms may start within one month of a traumatic event, but
sometimes symptoms may not appear until years after the event.
SIGNS
& SYMPTOMS CATEGORIZED IN PTSD
PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four types:
intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and
changes in physical and emotional reactions. Symptoms can vary over time or
vary from person to person.
· Intrusive memories
The
patient may suffer from recurrent and unwanted distressed memories of the
traumatic event, the person may relive the traumatic events as if it all was
happening again (flashback), nightmares and upsetting dreams about the trauma
or the patient may even express severe emotional or physical distress to
anything that may remind them of the traumatic event.
· Avoidance
The
person suffering may try to avoid thinking or talking about the trauma, may
avoid places, activities or people that may in any way remind them of the
traumatic event.
· Negative changes in thinking and mood
Symptoms
of negative changes in thinking and mood may include negative thoughts about yourself
or other people of the world and faces a lot of difficulty in expressing
positive emotions. The patient may develop a state of hopelessness about
future, may struggle in maintaining close relationships and feel detached from
friends and family. They may associate with memory problems including not able
to recall the important aspects of traumatic events and may even complain to be
feeling “emotionally numb”.
· Changes in physical and emotional reactions
Patient
may be easily frightened and always guard for danger. They may exhibit
self-destructive behavior such as drinking too much, driving too fast. They
have trouble in sleeping and concentrating. Mood changes occur including irritability,
overwhelming guilt, angry outbursts and aggressive behavior.
For
children 6 years old and younger, signs and symptoms may also include the re-enacting
the traumatic event or aspects of the traumatic event through play or
frightening dreams that may or may not include the aspects of traumatic events.
INTENSITY OF SYMPTOMS
PTSD
symptoms can vary in intensity over time. You may have more PTSD symptoms when
you're stressed in general, or when you come across reminders of what you went
through. For instance, you may hear a car backfire and relive combat
experiences. Or you may see a report on the news about a sexual assault and
feel overcome by memories of your own assault.
WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR?
If
you have disturbing thoughts and feelings about a traumatic event for more than
a month, if they're severe, or if you feel you're having trouble getting your
life back under control, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional.
Getting treatment as soon as possible can help prevent PTSD symptoms from
getting worse.
COPING
STRATIGIES AND TREATMENT
Psychotherapy, medications, yoga and
exercise and MDSA assisted therapy has been very beneficial in treating
post-traumatic stress disorder.
Spending time with friends, mindfulness,
maintaining a notebook, and healthy life style may prove to be the best coping strategies.
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