One disorder that has interested me since I saw a movie last year was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The character in the movie served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and had symptoms consistent with this
2disorder. According to the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
(DSM-5; APA, 2013), PTSD develops when
1an individual experiences a traumatic event, witnesses a traumatic event, learns that a traumatic event occurred to a close family member or friend, or experiences repeated extreme exposure to traumatic event details. As a result of exposure, there are many criteria that must be met for a diagnosis to be made. Intrusions symptoms must be present. Intrusive symptoms can include dreams, dissociative …show more content…
The movie documented his tours and his deployments, but it also showed the effects of these traumas on the character and his family when he returned home. In particular, the character began to withdraw from his wife and the rest of his family, and he appeared depressed. There were moments in the movie in which he was clearly having flashbacks, and he reacted as though he were at war, even though he was at his child’s birthday party. Biological View Those who subscribe to a biological view of PTSD development, like Sherin and Nemeroff (2012), assert that PTSD develops largely due to a fight-or-flight response that becomes dysregulated long after the fear trigger has been removed. Those who view PTSD development from a biological perspective believe that PTSD develops when individuals experience a state of constant arousal of the fight-or-flight system in the absence of any real or true danger. From a biological perspective the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis is a …show more content…
In fact, the traumatic event automatically leads to an emotional response, and stimulus generalization leads to reminders which are conditioned stimuli of the traumatic experience. These generalized and conditioned stimuli (e.g. sights, smells, memories) then evoke trauma reactions which individuals attempt to avoid. Because individuals never have the opportunity to learn that these generalized stimuli are objectively safe, symptoms of PTSD continue. Cognitive Explanation of PTSD A cognitive model of PTSD was presented by Ehlers and Clark (2000). These authors stated that PTSD develops when individuals who experienced a trauma begin to process the trauma in a way that is not helpful. In particular, some individuals may develop a tendency to negatively appraise the trauma and its aftermath, and they may experience a disturbance in their memory for the trauma due to poor elaboration and contextualization of the trauma. Humanistic While it is rather unusual to view the development of PTSD from a humanistic perspective, individuals who practice from a humanistic perspective view survivors of trauma from a positive
2disorder. According to the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
(DSM-5; APA, 2013), PTSD develops when
1an individual experiences a traumatic event, witnesses a traumatic event, learns that a traumatic event occurred to a close family member or friend, or experiences repeated extreme exposure to traumatic event details. As a result of exposure, there are many criteria that must be met for a diagnosis to be made. Intrusions symptoms must be present. Intrusive symptoms can include dreams, dissociative …show more content…
The movie documented his tours and his deployments, but it also showed the effects of these traumas on the character and his family when he returned home. In particular, the character began to withdraw from his wife and the rest of his family, and he appeared depressed. There were moments in the movie in which he was clearly having flashbacks, and he reacted as though he were at war, even though he was at his child’s birthday party. Biological View Those who subscribe to a biological view of PTSD development, like Sherin and Nemeroff (2012), assert that PTSD develops largely due to a fight-or-flight response that becomes dysregulated long after the fear trigger has been removed. Those who view PTSD development from a biological perspective believe that PTSD develops when individuals experience a state of constant arousal of the fight-or-flight system in the absence of any real or true danger. From a biological perspective the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis is a …show more content…
In fact, the traumatic event automatically leads to an emotional response, and stimulus generalization leads to reminders which are conditioned stimuli of the traumatic experience. These generalized and conditioned stimuli (e.g. sights, smells, memories) then evoke trauma reactions which individuals attempt to avoid. Because individuals never have the opportunity to learn that these generalized stimuli are objectively safe, symptoms of PTSD continue. Cognitive Explanation of PTSD A cognitive model of PTSD was presented by Ehlers and Clark (2000). These authors stated that PTSD develops when individuals who experienced a trauma begin to process the trauma in a way that is not helpful. In particular, some individuals may develop a tendency to negatively appraise the trauma and its aftermath, and they may experience a disturbance in their memory for the trauma due to poor elaboration and contextualization of the trauma. Humanistic While it is rather unusual to view the development of PTSD from a humanistic perspective, individuals who practice from a humanistic perspective view survivors of trauma from a positive