For my project I chose to take a closer looked at Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to sexual trauma. I found interest in this topic because my mother has been diagnosed with PTSD and she suffers from the symptoms of it daily. I also have two friends who are twins who I believe suffer from PTSD but are not diagnosed. For this project I will be using my mother, one of my friends and my cousin who works for the Coalition Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) to thoroughly explore this topic. I attended a support group my cousin supervised at CARA. I also gave my mother and my friend a questionnaire to fill out to see how serve their PTSD was and also presented to them ways to deal with their PTSD. The following is an overview of my project as well as the information I presented to my mother and friend to help them live with PTSD.
PTSD Defined:
According to the U.S National Library of Medicine PTSD is explained in the following:
“Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you 've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. PTSD can occur at any age. It can follow a natural disaster such as a flood or fire, or events such as: assault, domestic abuse, imprisonment, rape, terrorism, and/or being in a war. The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. PTSD changes the body 's response to stress. It affects the stress hormones and chemicals that carry information between the neurotransmitters in the brain. It is not known why traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not others. Having a history of trauma may increase your risk for getting PTSD after a recent traumatic event. Symptoms for PTSD fall into three main categories: 1. "Reliving" the event, which will disturbs day-to-day activities by causing flashback episodes, where the event seems to be happening again and again, repeated upsetting memories of the event,
Cited: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). (2010, 12 June). Retrieved from Medicine.net : http://www.medicine.net/posttraumatic_stress_disorder/article.htm A.D.A.M. (2012, April 25). Post-traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved from U.S. National Library of Medicine - The World 's Largest Medical Library: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/ Cape Graphics . (2012). About Us. Retrieved from The Coalition Against Rape And Abuse, Inc: http://www.cara-cmc.org/