Cheryl Foote is a Licensed Practical Nurse who has always had an interest in psychiatry. A victim of PTSD, she is webmaster of Shattered no More, a website for women with depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD. She has also founded two online groups for women with PTSD. Membership of the group is now about 70. She also writes a column for Suite101.com on PTSD at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/wome...
She agreed to sit down with me and discuss PTSD and its relationship to victims of stalking.
KT: What is PTSD?
CF: Post Traumatic Stress disorder is best described as a collection of emotional and physical symptoms which are brought on by a major trauma, or multiple traumas in ones life which would not normally happen in everyday life. Examples of such traumas are: war combat, a serious accident, rape or assault, a natural disaster, a violent crime or the death of a loved one. PTSD may also be caused by ongoing physical, emotional or sexual abuse, kidnapping or torture.
KT: Are women more likely to get PTSD?
CF: Yes, it's estimated that twice as many women are affected by PTSD as men.
KT: What causes it?
CF: When the body is involved in trauma, the brain releases chemicals which cause the "flight or fight" reaction to kick in. We do whatever we can at the time to get out of the situation with little or no thought of what is actually happening to us. Some people are able to process the trauma immediately and move on, however those who are unable to do so will begin to have symptoms of the disorder days, weeks or even years after the event occurred. This is especially true in child abuse victims.
KT: What are some symptoms of the disorder?
CF: PTSD is considered an anxiety disorder. The most common signs and symptoms of the disorder are continuous thoughts about the trauma, nightmares, feelings of the trauma actually repeating, difficulties when exposed to situations, places, or people that remind the person of the trauma. Anxiety attacks, hypervigilance, increased startle reflex, also depression, phobias and drug/alcohol abuse. There have been recent discussions that even Fibromyalgia may be a symptom of PTSD.
KT: What should someone do if they suspect they have the disorder?
CF: If someone suspects they have the disorder they should contact their mental health professional for a full assessment. The problem is, the person may go to their physician complaining of depression, or sleep difficulties and that will be treated. I personally feel that the medical community must be willing to dig a little deeper into the person's history because many people will not disclose trauma, because they not realize it was trauma or they may not remember it at the time. PTSD as such cannot be treated as a whole, rather the symptoms must be treated.
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