War, Terrorism and Disasters

War, Terrorism and Disasters

Intensive exposure to traumatic and violent events such as war, terrorist attacks and natural disasters increases the vulnerabilities in children and their families to experience a range of adverse effects. Exposure to trauma greatly affects the ability of children to identify, regulate and express their emotions and exerts negative effects on their core identity, as well as the ability to relate to others. The children and families who have to go through such traumatic events develop the Post-traumatic stress disorder experience reactions of stress, reactions related to grief and depression, and separation from family during or after the event causes development of anxiety reactions. Particular triggers such wind, fire or loud noise might be the cause of sparking fear or reactions of terror among people, and they might see nightmares and refuse to engage in activities that are linked with elements of the disasters.

Treatment Approaches

The main treatment which is used to treat people who have PTSD is to use psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of both depending on the circumstances. Every patient is different, so the treatment option that is suitable for one patient might not necessarily work for others (Foa et. al, 2010). Therefore it is important that people suffering from PTSD seek immediate treatment from mental health care providers as the physicians are experienced in PTSD treatment and are able to prescribe treatments which would work best for the patients. The reason why medication is given in combination with psychotherapy to PTSD patients is because a combination of these treatments helps in improving the symptoms and allows the patients to develop skills for better coping with the traumatic events, and their life beyond them.

Medication

Various different types of medications are given to relieve the symptoms of PTSD in patients. Antidepressants are ...