PTSD

Literature Review: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder



Abstract

Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs for a number of reasons and can happen to anyone. PTSD occurs after a person encounters an accident, loses a loved one, is harassed or assaulted, and many other reasons. The duration it takes for a person to recover from PTSD depends on the intensity of the trauma, and the person's ability to put it in the past. The symptoms of PTSD are typically seen within hours or days of the trauma; however, in some cases it takes weeks, months or even years.



Literature Review: Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder

The trauma does not necessarily involve a car accident or death, but can also be from witnessing a tragic situation. When the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center happened, the entire world witnessed the catastrophe. Not all those people lost their loved ones, but still experienced the trauma. A person suffering from PTSD experiences anxiety and tends to become quiet and an introvert.

Research work has been done on PTSD and its symptoms. A study by Weiner et al (2011) discusses brain abnormalities in Gulf War syndrome: evaluation with I HMR spectroscopy. The study suggested that individuals with Gulf War Illness (GWI) had reduced quantities of the neuronal marker N- Acetylaspartate (NAA) in the basal ganglia and pons. This study aimed to determine whether NAA is reduced in these regions and to investigate correlations with other possible causes of GWI, such as psychological response to stress in a large cohort of Gulf War veterans. Individuals underwent tests to determine their physical and psychological health and to identify veterans with (n = 81) and without (n = 97) GWI. When concentrations of NAA and ratios of NAA to creatine and choline containing metabolites were measured in the basal ganglia and pons, no significant differences were found between veterans with or without GWI, suggesting that GWI is not associated with reduced NAA in these regions. Veterans with GWI had significantly higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, supporting the idea that GWI symptoms are stress related.

In another study, they have demonstrated that symptoms of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) represent a symptom cluster distinct from bereavement-related depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The aim of the present study was to confirm and extend these findings using the most recent criteria defining PGD. The authors interviewed a total of 400 orphaned or widowed survivors of the Rwandan genocide. The syndromes were strongly linked to each other with a high comorbidity. Principal axis factoring resulted in the emergence of 4 different factors. The symptoms of depression, along with the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms of PGD, loaded on the first factor, symptoms of anxiety on the second factor, symptoms of PTSD on the third factor, and the separation distress symptoms of PGD on the fourth factor. This indicates that the concept of PGD includes symptoms that are conceptually related to depression. However, the symptom cluster of separation distress presents a grief-specific dimension that may surface unrelated ...