Stress and PTSD
Author: DrJeffBailey Total views: 10 Word Count: 553
One of the unfortunate side effects of the Iraq war will be the post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) many of the returning men and women will experience. In earlier wars, this condition was referred to as shell shock or combat fatigue or battle fatigue. For Vietnam vets, it was referred to as post-Vietnam syndrome.
The US National Institutes of Mental Health alert us to the characteristics of PTSD. These include a sustained and disruptive set of feelings that occur after a particularly traumatic event. These unpleasant episodes recur at frequent intervals.
Imagine having to replay day after day terrifying and disturbing scenes. Some people don't realise that they have PTSD until they start to have nightmares at night and cannot sleep and feel refresh the next day. When they go to work feeling tired and irritable, their concentration is negatively affected and their work productivity is interfered with dramatically.
The constant worries mean that relationships suffer as the person experiencing PTSD pulls away from loved ones. Some suffer guilt that they returned from the war - and that their comrades did not. Emotions are volatile, some people becoming very edgy and short-tempered.
Most of these victims have attentional problems and find it hard to stay on task and be productive at work. There is a constant theme of remembering and agonizing. Even the notion of having these recurrences and being unable to concentrate can cause people to worry even more.
It is true that people are more important than productivity in the workplace but the reality is that something around 8% of people in the US report that they experience PTSD. They also report that the stress disorder interferes significantly with their productivity. And interestingly PTSD applies equally across gender and racial lines.
Despite the high figures of stress and PTSD, many people are able to cope with their daily lives and manage stress effectively. They have learned effective strategies to reduce stress by identifying the stressors and finding ways to understand and alleviate the tension and anxiety. The problem is, of course, if people cannot manage stress effectively it will impact negatively many areas of their life.
If you're feeling stress at this moment, this is probably normal. You know that each day brings different challenges and opportunities for you. If you manage these challenges well you will have relatively low levels of stress. If you let the stress overwhelm you, you will have unpleasant consequences.
Managing stress is one of the most important things we need to learn in a modern complex life. Understanding tension, anxiety, stressors and a range of emotional pressures gives us the tools to be able to unlock and deal with stress disorders. And when we have sound information and know effective stress management strategies we can maintain a steady and stable personality and keep the support of our loved ones.
If I were to be asked the first step in learning to manage stress effectively, I would say that having sound information about this disorder is essential. Then I would add that an individual who wants to manage and reduce stress must understand and implement practical stress management strategies. Many people use inappropriate or ineffective strategies and as a result are unable to reduce their stress and lead significantly more troubled lives than they should.
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About the Author
Psychologist, Dr Jeff, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now. Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don't waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Act now - learn how to relieve stress. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.
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