Although it is most often associated with veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can manifest in anyone who has ever witnessed – or been subjected to – trauma. It is a severe stress reaction which can manifest itself even years after a traumatic event has taken place. PTSD features biological and psychological symptoms and often leads to the development of other disorders, including depression and substance abuse. The severe effect this problem can have on the life of an individual makes treatment for PTSD vital to get one’s life back on track.
Although not everyone who survives trauma develops PTSD, it can wreak havoc in a person’s life, who does. Typically, PTSD affects patients’ lives in four different ways:
Unfortunately, people with PTSD are often diagnosed with other mental illnesses also. Studies have shown more than half of men with PTSD have problems with depression, conduct disorder, and substance abuse. Meanwhile, just under half of women with PTSD also have depression. Additional studies have shown PTSD can contribute to developing physical ailments as well – indeed, depression has been shown to be a factor in heart disease and other conditions.
Usually, PTSD is diagnosed after a patient continues to experience its symptoms for at least a month after the traumatic event. However, symptoms may appear months or years later. These include:
However, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) reports that children experience PTSD somewhat differently than teens and adults do. Reports cited by the VA claim that although children do not seem to experience the flashbacks and memory difficulties seen in older patients with PTSD, they do, however, experience symptoms of their own. These include:
PTSD manifests in adolescents similar to how it does in adults but there are some crucial differences. Adolescents are more likely to engage in traumatic reenactment, where they may include elements of the trauma in their day-to-day life. Additionally, adolescents with PTSD are much more likely to engage in aggressive and/or impulsive behaviors.
According to the VA’s National Center for PTSD, any event which threatens life or causes physical harm can lead to PTSD in children. These events include:
Additional risk factors for PTSD in children include being female, preexisting mental disorders and having low social support.
Experiencing trauma is bad enough, but going without treatment for PTSD creates serious problems with school, work, and family. ADEONA Healthcare of Rancho San Diego provides treatment of PTSD at our residential PTSD treatment center for teens which offers patients a safe, secure and comfortable environment in which to work on their problems without distractions.
ADEONA Healthcare makes use of effective, proven techniques to give patients with PTSD the tools to move past the trauma and into a happier life. Our Rancho San Diego location provides PTSD residential treatment for teens. This inpatient PTSD treatment center offers a quiet, summer camp-like surrounding where adolescents discover new things about themselves and their world to enhance their recovery.
