Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Quiz

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Can occur at any age, including during childhood
• Up to 60% of people at risk, such as combat veterans and victims of violence and natural disasters, develop PTSD
• Complete recovery occurs within 3 months for about 50% of people
• Severity and duration of the trauma and proximity to the event are the most important factors affecting the likelihood of developing PTSD
• 1/4 of all victims of physical assault develop PTSD
• Victims of rape have one of the highest rates of PTSD, approximately 70%

Symptoms of PTSD

• Insomnia
• Hyperarousal
• Hypervigilance
• Irritability
• Angry outbursts
• Losing a sense of connection and control over life
• Symptoms occur 3 months or more after the trauma

Defense Mechanisms in PTSD

• Hypervigilance
• Irritability
• Avoidance of activities, places, or people
• Exaggerated startle response
• Projection (delusional)
• Denial (psychotic)

Dissociative Disorders

• Feeling disconnected from oneself and the world around you
• Forgetting about certain time periods, events, and personal information
• Feeling uncertain about who you are
• Having multiple distinct identities
• Often form in children subjected to long-term physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• Stress of war or natural disasters can also trigger dissociative disorders

Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder

• Feeling detached from thoughts, feelings, body sensations, or surroundings
• Disconnect from reality becomes the reality is too painful and overwhelming
• Defined by two sensation episodes: depersonalization (watching yourself from outside your body) and derealization experiences (everything around you feels fake, foggy, or dreamlike)

Treatment of Dissociative Disorders

• A supportive environment
• Psychotherapy
• Sometimes hypnosis or medication-facilitated interviews
• Treatment goals: merge separate parts of identity to become one sense of self

Personality Disorders

Cluster A

• Paranoid: suspicious, hypersensitive, secretive
• Schizoid: seclusive, indifferent, passive
• Schizotypal: odd in thinking, bizarre fantasy, peculiar language

Paranoid Personality Disorder

• Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others
• More common in men than in women
• Hereditary and parental antagonism & harassment are predisposing factors
• Clinical features: constantly on guard, hyper vigilant, insensitive to others' feelings, avoids interactions, always feels others are taking advantage of them, extremely oversensitive, does not accept responsibility for their own behavior