Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month

June is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month with HSS, the VA, and DOD pushing for new research to find the underlying causes of the disorder, develop better tools to identify who is at a heightened risk, and develop new treatment and preventative interventions. PTSD impacts individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event or series of traumatic circumstances. This disorder can affect people of any age, race, ethnicity, and nationality with 3.5% of U.S. adults being diagnosed per year. For adolescents between the ages of 13-18 the lifetime prevalence is 8% and it’s estimated that 1 in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. 

There are individuals at a heightened risk of developing PTSD that receive a diagnosis at a disproportionate rate. Women are twice as likely as men to develop the disorder and three ethnic groups- U.S. Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives have higher rates of PTSD than non-Latino whites. To receive a PTSD diagnosis, an individual has to be exposed to a traumatic event that may be emotionally or physically harmful, life-threatening, and can impact multiple aspects of well-being. Exposure includes direct experience, witnessing a traumatic event happen to another person, or learning about a traumatic event that happened to someone close to you. Additionally, PTSD can occur when there is repeated exposure to unbearable details of trauma such as a DCF agent being exposed to details surrounding child abuse. 

There are four categories that encompass the symptoms of PTSD which include intrusion, avoidance, alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Conditions related to PTSD include Acute Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. PTSD is treatable with a higher success of recovery the earlier the individual gets treatment. ART, EMDR, and TF-CBT are a few of the treatment options that have the ability to treat PTSD. Other treatment options include Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Group Therapy, additionally psychodynamic therapies focus on the emotional aspects of PTSD. Medications such as SSRIs and SNRIs help to treat the core symptoms of PTSD and are recommended to be taken in combination with psychotherapy. 

Source: American Psychiatric Association