Friday, June 7, 2013

Don't Laugh at PTSD!

I've never been in the armed services but one thing that many vets and I have in common is that we suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is something that non sufferers aren't always aware of. In my experience, PTSD manifests itself in different ways, for me it is jitters, heavy breathing, cold sweats, nausea followed by a sensation that i can only explain as my stomach wanting to turn itself inside out. For some of my friends it is different, it can include anything from heavy breathing to angry outbursts. Triggers most commonly come from people coming up behind me, being startled, hearing loud noises or angry shouting, and even from hearing the vacuum cleaner whizzing away downstairs!
The reason I have gotten on my soapbox today is because of an event last night when a friend spooked me and triggered my PTSD, it was a mild attack, and even though my friend was being sweet, i had to explain to him that it triggers my PTSD and it is not cool to do that, he was sweet. But another friend made snarky comments saying that I was being a "drama queen". PTSD isn't about attention, it is something that must really be taken with a degree of seriousness! While I am not as physically aggressive, all i could think of was if it was someone else, like one of my friends from school!

The Vets center at UMB is currently located in an office on the third floor. The room has two entrances, but because seating is near the second entrance we have a divider curtain an sign telling people not to enter or remove the divider under any circumstance except for emergency. Going to a public school, we get several veterans returning on the GI bill and even the 9/11 bill. so in many classrooms it is common for the vets to sit in a line against the back wall of a classroom.

From time to time in the student centers or the classroom, we will have an incident. A few years ago, because of a silly student coming up behind her friend, who is a Marine Sergeant and a student, we had a small incident that involved yelling and some broken furniture, but thankfully no one was hurt! Many of our vets are often first responders to incidents on campus, when a student attempted suicide from the 3rd floor balcony in Fall of 2012, one of our own vets sprang into action! When PTSD triggers set off one of our students, the other vets will clear the area and may attempt to calm the student down or let the student burn out, such instances are rare and the absolute extreme. Still, with the rising numbers of our men and women coming home, PTSD awareness is a necessity and a civic responsibility we cant overlook!
I've included a list of symptoms taken from the National Institute for Mental Health (2013) below.

PTSD can cause many symptoms. These symptoms can be grouped into three categories:
1. Re-experiencing symptoms:
  • Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating
  • Bad dreams
  • Frightening thoughts.
Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing.
2. Avoidance symptoms:
  • Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience
  • Feeling emotionally numb
  • Feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry
  • Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past
  • Having trouble remembering the dangerous event.
Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.
3. Hyperarousal symptoms:
  • Being easily startled
  • Feeling tense or “on edge”
  • Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.
Hyperarousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic event. They can make the person feel stressed and angry. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating.
It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event. Sometimes people have very serious symptoms that go away after a few weeks. This is called acute stress disorder, or ASD. When the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months.

Please visit NIMH.NIH. GOV for more resources and information