What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a condition that develops following a traumatic experience or event on our life.Anyone can develop PTSD but fortunately it is treatable.

Statistics
* 70 percent of adults in the U.S. have experienced PTSD
* 5 percent have PTSD at any given time
* one out of 10 women will get PTSD at some point, and women are twice as likely then men to develop it.
* 17 percent of men and 13 percent of women have experienced more then 3 traumatic life events.
* Risk for developing PTSD in people who have experienced the following events is:
49 percent- rape
31 percent- physical assault
17 percent- serious accident or injury
15 percent- sudden death of family member or close friend
11 percent- life threatening illness in child
8 percent- witness to serious crime such as murder or assault
4 percent- natural disasters such as tornados and hurricanes
                                                                                                                   
 

Symptoms of PTSD
Everyone reacts differently to trauma, not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD. But for those that do, the symptoms usually make themselves known within weeks, or for some even months or years.
Symptoms:
* Chronic pain with no medical findings
*Conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fybromyalgia
*Stomach pains, diarrhea, and other digestive problems
*Breathing problems
*Headaches
*Muscle cramps
*sleeping disorders
 
Treatment
There are a number of treatments options available to those who suffer PTSD. Treatments usually involve counseling and psychotherapy methods alone or with medications. Medications can help reduce symptoms and when used with counseling can be very effective and improve quality of life.