Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Here are the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:
- A person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which either
the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury to them or others; or the person’s responses involved intense fear, helplessness or horror. - The tramatic event is constantly re-experienced in one (or more) of the following ways:
- Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event. These may take the form of images, thoughts or perceptions.
- Recurrent distressing dreams connected to the event.
- Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring.
- Physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
- Persistant avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma as
indicated by a number of the following:- A feeling of detachment from others.
- A marked diminished interest or participation in significant
activities. - Efforts to avoid activities, places or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.
- Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated
with the trauma.
- Persistant symptoms of increased arousal (which were not present before the trauma) as indicated by a number of the following:
- An exaggerated startle response.
- A difficulty in concentrating.
- Hypervigilance.
- A difficulty falling or staying asleep.
- Irritibility or outbursts of anger.
- The disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in
social, occupational or other important areas of day to day living.