Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Flashcards
What is PTSD?
An anxiety disorder associated with experiencing or witnessing a single or repeated or multiple events that are traumatic. These events can include; Serious accidents, assault, abuse, trauma, war and conflict or torture
What are some symptoms of PTSD?
- Re-experiencing,
- Avoidance (of thoughts/feelings/people/places/activities related to event),
- Hyperarousal,
- Negative alterations in mood and thinking,
- emotional numbing,
- Dissociation,
- Emotional dysregulation,
- Interpersonal difficulties or problems in relationships,
- Negative self-perception
Explain the intrusive memories of PTST
- Trauma can be re-experienced through intrusive/distressing thoughts, images, flashbacks or nightmares
Explain the hyperarousal of PTSD
- Physiological reactivity (increased heart rate),
- Sleep disturbances,
- Irritability,
- Anger,
- Hypervigilance
What are the risk factors for PTSD
- Exposure to a traumatic event,
- Severity to event,
- Female sex,
- younger age,
- previous experiance of trauma,
- presensor of multiple life stressors,
- low social support,
- History of mental health disorder
What professions are at a greater risk of experiencing a traumatic event?
- Armed forces,
- Ambulance, police, fire services or other emergency personnel,
- Nursing and other front-line healthcare workers,
- Journalists,
- Refugees
What is the resilience?
Adult capacity to maintain healthy psychological and physical functioning
What are the characteristics of resiliance?
- Process a flexible adaptation to challenges,
- Sense of continuity of their beliefs,
- Retain ability to regenerate positive experiences
What are other psychological factors that act as risk factors for development of PTSD
- Personal impact of the event,
- The extent of perceived control over future threats,
- How one is prepared to deal with stressor,
- One’s beliefs and assumptions about trauma
What are the effects psychological debriefing?
- it may not only be ineffective in preventing PTSD but it may actually increase risk of disorder as it causes secondary traumatisation.
What are psychological interventions for the prevention and treatment of PTSD?
- Cognitive processing therapy,
- Cognitive therapy for PTSD,
- Narrative exposure therapy,
- Prolonged exposure therapy
What are the treatment options of PTSD in adults?
- Cognitive processing therapy,
- Cognitive therapy for PTSD,
- Narrative exposure therapy,
- Prolonged exposure therapy,
- Consider eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- SSRIs (paroxetine and sertraline) or venlafaxine but therapy is recommended before medication
