THE MANY FACES OF PTSD

I continue to be amazed by all the different ways that post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms can present themselves as my patients cope with the fears related to past traumatic experiences.  I have witnessed manic and psychotic symptoms, conversations with angels inside their head, hearing music coming from outside their brain, paranoid thoughts and overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt.  Very frequently people who have been traumatized will act or feel responsible for others, as a way of preventing something worse happening. This keeps their brains on high alert.  

I have known that PTSD occurs in people who have experienced a wide range of traumatic events. More recently I have seen people with chronic stress related to the impact of untreated or poorly treated ADD/ADHD.  The impact of concentration and attention problems is often connected with traumatic type interactions that can lead to a post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD].  Others have experienced stress in relationships that also leads to PTSD.  Very often the people who I am helping are not aware that they have PTSD although they are aware that they have frequent anxiety symptoms. Diagnosing PTSD is important for a person’s ability to successfully reduce and even eliminate their anxiety symptoms.