Clinical -Trauma related Disorders Flashcards
When people experience a psycho-trauma, what are the possible results?
- Post-traumatic growth
- No problems/recovery
- Mental Health problems: Trauma-Related Disorders
What are Trauma-Related Disorders?
Disorders/conditions that can be linked to a specific trauma (caused by a traumatic event)
What can a traumatic event be?
Any negative experience. Everybody perceives different events as traumatic or non-traumatic. Factors that determine in each one of us what might be traumatic or not are a lot, and we can’t always know them all (personality, past experiences, associations, memories, environment etc.)
!!! Reminder of a traumatic event might not cause PTSD. Then a change in your life might change the way you think, and the same reminder that caused you no harm, now brings about symptoms of PTSD !!!
What are some similarities between OCD and Trauma-Related Disorders?
- Anxiety plays a big role in both
- Similar ways of treatment
What are some examples of Trauma-Related Disorders?
- PTSD
- ASD
- Adjustment Disorder
- …
What is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)?
Disorder defined as the extreme response to a severe stressor
Description of PTSD and ASD
What are some Demographic details on PTSD?
- 2/3 of people report at least one serious trauma during their lifetime.
- out of 80.7% of the population that experiences a trauma, 7.4% of them develop PTSD
- Most common traumatic event in men: Military service
- Most common traumatic event on women: Rape
Which gender is more likely to develop PTSD and why?
Women (1.5-2 times more likely to develop PTSD than men). This happens mainly due to different life circumstances (sexual assault in childhood and adulthood):
- 1 of 6 women: raped
- 1 of 10 women: physical harm after refusing physical contact
What are the 4 definitions of trauma according to the DSM-5?
Exposure to death, sexual violence or serious injury in one of the three following ways:
- Personally experiencing the event (1 of the above 3)
- Witness one of the 3 happen to somebody else
- Learn that one of the 3 happened to someone you know/somebody else
- Repeated/extreme exposure to aversive details of a traumatic event
What are the four symptom clusters that are needed for diagnosing PTSD?
- Intrusion Symptoms
- Avoidance Symptoms
- Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood
- Arousal and Reactivity Symptoms
!!! (In order to diagnose PTSD, patient must have one of the symptoms from each category, [see below]) !!!
Intrusion Symptoms
(In Adults):
- Distressing Memories
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks (as if you’re in the traumatic event again)
- Distress in response to reminders of trauma
(In Children):
- Repetitive play regarding trauma themes
- Reenactment of trauma during play
Avoidance Symptoms
Avoid:
- Internal reminders (thoughts)
- External reminders (environment)
Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood
(In Adults):
- Dissociative Amnesia: Inability to remember important aspects of trauma
- Extreme negative beliefs about self and others
- Self-blame for trauma
- No interest/participation in activities
- Detached/estranged from others
- Can’t experience positive emotions
(In Children):
- More frequent negative emotions
- Social withdrawal
Arousal and reactivity
- Aggressive Behavior
- Hypervigilance, startle response
- Poor concentration
- Sleep disturbance
What is the onset of PTSD, and how long do the symptoms last?
- PTSD may develop soon after trauma or years after it
- Symptoms are chronic
- Bare minimum for symptoms are a month
- Military veterans even 20-40 years later report symptoms for PTSD
What are some difficulties with PTSD?
- Social: Difficulties with relationships (divorce) and unemployment
- Personal: Suicidal thoughts, self-injury, medical illness
What is Complex PTSD?
Usually comes about when somebody is exposed to prolonged trauma or/and had childhood disorders as well.
- Shows a broader range of symptoms than PTSD
- Because it’s just more severe PTSD symptoms, there’s no distinctive subtype, so DSM-5 doesn’t classify it as a specific disorder.