A small talk about PTSD

Article/ Lu Lingyu (Pharmacist of Taoyuan mental Hospital, Department of Health)

Source:http://www.taiwan-pharma.org.tw/weekly/1760/1760-3-5.htm

Article/ Lu Lingyu (Pharmacist from Taoyuan mental Hospital,Department of Health)

Translator：Liu TingYi

After watching the Japanese drama “Team Medical Dragon 3”, except the importance of “team work” which was constantly emphasized in the drama, another impressive picture was Dr. Sakaguchi Kenji couldn’t wield the surgical knife in the latter segment because PTSD. What is PTSD? Will it probably happened to everyone or is it a serious illness?

PSTD’s full name is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and it’s a kind of disorder related to stress events. It usually results from people experienced some serious incidents, for example the serious body injuries result in the psychological trauma, or are forced to confront one or multiple events which had the severely threat of bodily integrity to oneself or to someone else and so on. And these traumatic matters were re-experienced by one or multiple ways that are usually as painful processes no matter it is physical or mental. Sometimes, people will once again feel the unhappy picture at that time in the dream, and this situation always let people descend into the abyss and cannot extricate themselves. They will hold the evaded state of mind for those might let them remember the trauma, and they might gradually show the reaction of excessive anxiety, insomnia and excessive startle and so on.

PTSD can occur at any age, therefore, even the young children are possibly developing PTSD. However, because of the children cannot clearly express their innermost thoughts like adults, the diagnosis will be different between child and adult. Symptoms usually begin within three months of the incident, and the duration for more than one month. In therapy that will usually treat anti-depressants in primary cure, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, sertraline and fluvoxamine) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors are used for treating PTSD patients. Other medicines like Carbamazepine, Valproic acid, Beta-blocker and Lithium are also involved.

PTSD patients usually need to stand on their own and receive the assistance from families, which will help them go out of the haze. After the appropriate treatment and a period of comprehension, the patients will raise the traumatic experiences to the valuable experiences of growth. With the proper adjustment and believe there are still hopes that will colorful their life.