Post Traumatic Stress

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is anxiety that results from previous trauma such as military combat, rape, hostage situations, or a serious accident. PTSD often leads to flashbacks and behavioural changes in order to avoid certain situations which may trigger this reaction.

Trauma is a psychophysical experience, even when the traumatic event causes no direct bodily harm the body will react as if it has. Trauma continues to intrude with visual, auditory, and/or other somatic (bodily) realities on the lives of its victims. It is a complex psychobiological condition with symptoms persisting throughout a victim’s life. Depending on the age of the victim, nature of the trauma, response to their trauma and the support to the victim after the trauma vary greatly, as with the consequences. The most severe consequences of trauma result from disassociation; splitting the mind and soma (body) is an instinctive response to save the self from suffering, doing a very good job, simultaneously casting a great deal of harm as this ongoing defensive stance leads to physical symptoms such as sleep disturbance, panic attacks, concentration difficulty, extreme startle reflex, cold sweats, rapid or irregular heartbeat, hyper energy, exhaustion and psychological symptoms such as anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, feeling unsafe, avoidance of situations, thoughts and feelings that carry reminders of the traumatic event, feeling detached from oneself or others and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).