Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Some ways that are often suggested for PTSD patients to cope with this
illness include learning more about the disorder as well as talking to friends,
family, professionals, and PTSD survivors for support. Joining a support group
may be helpful. Other tips include reducing stress by using relaxation
techniques (for example, breathing exercises, positive imagery), actively participating
in treatment as recommended by professionals, increasing positive lifestyle
practices (for example, exercise, healthy eating, distracting oneself through keeping a
healthy work schedule if employed, volunteering whether employed or not), and
minimizing negative lifestyle practices like substance abuse, social isolation,
working to excess, and self-destructive or suicidal behaviors.
Where can people get help for PTSD?
Air Force Palace HART
Phone: 800-774-1361
Email: severelyinjured@militaryonesource.com
American Love and Appreciation Fund (for veterans)
305-673-2856
Army Wounded Warrior Program
Phone: 800-237-1336 or 800-833-6622
DHSD Deployment Helpline
Phone: 800-497-6261
Marine for Life
Phone: 866-645-8762
Email: injuredsupport@M4L.usmc.mil
Military One Source
Phone: 800-342-9647
http://www.militaryonesource.com/
Military Severely Injured Center
Phone: 800-774-1361
Email: severelyinjured@militaryonesource.com
National Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Phone: 717-728-9764
National Alliance for Mentally Ill
Phone: 800-950-6264
National Mental Health Association
Phone: 800-969-6642
Navy Safe Harbor
Phone: 800-774-1361
Email: severelyinjured@militaryonesource.com
Operation Comfort (for veterans and their families)
Phone: 866-632-7868 (1-866-NEAR TO U)
PTSD Information Hotline
Phone: 802-296-6300
PTSD Sanctuary
Phone: 800-THERAPIST
Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network
Phone: 800-656-HOPE
http://www.rainn.org
The future
As the use of the Internet continues to expand, so will Internet psychiatry.
This is particularly true given that it may be quite useful in specifically
providing access to psychotherapy for individuals with PTSD. Other areas that researchers are targeting to improve recovery
for PTSD sufferers include expanding research on EMDR, studying how PTSD can be
more specifically treated in various ethnic groups, and discovering how to best
prevent people from developing the illness. For military personnel, the more access to care that can be made available and the more comfortable active duty and veteran military men and women can be made to seek those services, the better the outcome that can be expected for service individuals with PTSD.
PTSD At A Glance
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that was first formally diagnosed in soldiers and war veterans and is usually caused by terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experiences but can also be caused by devastating life events like unemployment or divorce.
PTSD symptom types include re-experiencing the trauma, avoidance, and
hyperarousal.
PTSD has a lifetime prevalence of 7%-30%, with about 5
million people suffering from the illness in any one year. Girls, women, and
ethnic minorities develop PTSD more than boys, men, and Caucasians.
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) usually results from
prolonged exposure to traumatic event(s) and is characterized by long-lasting
problems that affect many aspects of emotional and social functioning.
Symptoms of C-PTSD include problems regulating feelings, dissociation, or
depersonalization; persistent depressive feelings, seeing the perpetrator of
trauma as all-powerful, preoccupation with the perpetrator, and a severe change
in what gives the sufferer meaning.
Untreated PTSD can have devastating, far-reaching consequences for
sufferers' medical and emotional functioning and relationships, their families,
and for society. Children with PTSD can experience significantly negative
effects on their social and emotional development, as well as their ability to
learn.
Although almost any event that is life-threatening or that severely
compromises the emotional well-being of an individual may cause PTSD, such
events usually include experiencing or witnessing a severe accident or physical
injury, getting a frightening medical diagnosis, being the victim of a crime or
torture, exposure to combat, disaster or terrorist attack, enduring any form of
abuse, or involvement in civil conflict.
Issues that tend to put people at higher risk for developing PTSD include
female gender, minority ethnicity, increased duration or severity of, as well as
exposure to, the trauma experienced, having an emotional condition prior to the
event, and having little social support. Risk factors for children and
adolescents also include having any learning disability or experiencing violence
in the home.
Disaster preparedness training may be a protective factor for PTSD.
Medicines that treat depression (for example, serotonergic antidepressants or
SSRIs), that decrease the heart rate (for example, propranolol), or increase the
action of other body chemicals (for example, hydrocortisol) are thought to be effective tools in
the prevention of PTSD when given in the days immediately after an individual
experiences a traumatic event.
SSRIs seem to be most effective in treating persons whose PTSD is the result of non-combat related trauma.
Individuals who wonder if they may be suffering from PTSD may benefit from
taking a self-test as they consider meeting with a practitioner. Professionals
may use a clinical interview in either adults, children, or adolescents, or one
of a number of structured tests with children or adolescents to assess for the
presence of this illness.
Diagnosing PTSD can present a challenge for professionals since sufferers often come for evaluation of something that seems to be unrelated to that illness at first. Those symptoms tend to be physical complaints, depression, or substance abuse. Also, PTSD often co-occurs with other anxiety disorders, manic depression, or with eating disorders.
Challenges for the assessment of PTSD in children and adolescents include adult
caretakers' tendency to be unaware of the extent of the young person's symptoms
and the tendency for children and teens to express symptoms of the illness in
ways that are quite different from adults.
Treatments for PTSD usually include psychological and medical treatments.
Education about the illness, helping the individual talk about the trauma
directly, exploration and modification of inaccurate ways of thinking about it,
and teaching the person ways to manage symptoms and are the usual techniques
used in psychotherapy. Family and couples' counseling, parenting classes, and
education about conflict resolution are other useful psychotherapeutic
interventions.
Directly addressing the sleep problems that are associated with PTSD has
been found to help alleviate those problems, thereby decreasing the symptoms of
PTSD in general.
Medications that are usually used to help PTSD sufferers include
serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs) and medicines that help decrease the
physical symptoms associated with illness. Other potentially helpful medications
for managing PTSD include mood stabilizers and antipsychotics. Tranquilizers
have been associated with withdrawal symptoms and other problems and have not
been found to be significantly effective for helping individuals with PTSD.
Some ways that are often suggested for PTSD patients to cope with this
illness include learning more about the illness, talking to others for support,
using relaxation techniques, participating in treatment, increasing positive
lifestyle practices, and minimizing negative lifestyle practices.
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Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation.
Dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder or split personality disorder) is a mental illness in which a person has at least two distinct personalities. Symptoms and signs include lapses in memory, feeling unreal, blackouts in time, hearing voices in their head that are not their own, not recognizing themselves in the mirror, and finding items in one's possession but not recalling how they were acquired. Treatment usually involves psychotherapy, medications, and sometimes hypnosis.
Drug addiction is a chronic disease that causes drug-seeking behavior and drug use despite negative consequences to the user and those around him. Though the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make the right decisions and increase the urge to take drugs. Drug abuse and addiction are preventable.
A number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best. Sleep needs vary from individual to individual and change throughout your life. Not getting enough sleep can hurt memory performance, health, and your mood.
Grief is the feeling one experiences after a loss (of a friendship, death of loved one, job). Complicated grief refers to grief that lasts for more than a year. Mourning describes the customs and rituals that help a bereaved individual make sense of their loss.
Insomnia is the perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep because of difficulty falling asleep; waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep; waking up too early in the morning; or unrefreshing sleep. Secondary insomnia is the most common type of insomnia. Treatment for insomnia include lifestyle changes, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication.
Phobias are unrelenting fears of activities (social phobias), situations (agoraphobia), and specific items (arachnophobia). There is thought to be a hereditary component to phobias, though there may be a cultural influence or they may be triggered by life events. Symptoms and signs of phobias include having a panic attack, shaking, breathing troubles, rapid heart beat, and a strong desire to escape the situation. Treatment of phobias typically involves desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and beta blockers.
Sleepwalking is a condition in which an individual walks or does other activities while asleep. Factors associated with sleepwalking include genetic, environmental, and physiological. Episodes of sleepwalking may include quiet walking to agitated running. Conditions that may have similar symptoms of sleepwalking, but are not include night terrors, confusional arousals, and nocturnal seizures. Treatment of sleepwalking generally include preventative measures. Medication may be prescribed if necessary.
Nightmares are dreams that cause high anxiety or terror. Nightmares may be a part of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and they usually occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. There are several different treatment options for nightmares, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and medications.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
There are many forms of sexual assault, including rape, attempted rape, child molestation, sexual intercourse that you say no to, inappropriate touching, and vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Sexual assault can also be anything that forces someone to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention, such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, incest, and sexual harassment.
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