Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Consequences Essay

Stress is an extremely counterproductive phenomenon of human life and is usually a “reaction to demands from the environment” in the form of “physical, cognitive and emotional response” (Pg.9). In an interview with my cousin Abby, I was able to study the effects of this stress on the life of individuals and how it transforms future life and actions. Abby had had a serious accident when she was in her twenties, which appears to be the most probable reason for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in her. I did question her regarding any other possible stressful events in her life and she mentioned that she had earlier been experiencing ‘work stressor’ and ‘home stressor’. The interview revealed that Abby had been experiencing “job-related stress” in which she was faced with “high demands” but less “control” and no real “sense of accomplishment” (Pg. 10). This is apparent from Abby’s remarks where she affirms that she felt the need to work hard so that she could support the family in times during hard times.

However, the most crucial incident which changed Abby’s life and which caused her to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the car accident which she encountered with her friend (now her husband) and the death of another friend besides her unborn baby (Abby was unaware of her pregnancy until the accident). Studies confirm that PTSD is a “psychological response” to any traumatic experience in life which could result in several changes in the life of the affected individual. This can be confirmed from the fact that Abby had a good memory and was efficient at completing tasks prior to the incident, but after the accident, she realized that her memory had reduced and she had problems remembering things which also reduced her ability to accomplish jobs successfully.

Through the course I have learned that the best “remedy’ to PTSD is way to find the “source of fear” in the patient with the intention of correcting “exaggerated beliefs” (Pg. 8). I wanted to confirm whether Abby’ beliefs were “exaggerated” or the PTSD source had actually caused any changes in two portions of her brain, “amygdale and hippocampus” (Pg. 8). This finding would confirm the “long term” effects of trauma which Abby had encountered as a result of the car accident with her friends and would be husband. The fact that Abby would get severe headaches also confirms the fact that her body was reacting physically and emotionally to the trauma she had faced earlier and the memory of which keeps reappearing to her every time she sees cars speeding by. In order to enable Abby to understand that her condition is normal and that this is not any sign of weakness in her, physically and emotionally, I decided to base the treatment on the trust which I had already formed with her by sharing her experiences and psychological problems which she was facing due to the trauma, in the form of PTSD.

Considering general gender differences in the reactions of men and women to different stressors in life, I noticed that Abby’s husband is a positive social factor in her life and enables her to cope with the solution with the help of different strategies, with the use of humor and support in the form of motivation. Her husband reacts very positively to her reactions to stress and does not make her feel different, rather jokes that by not using transportation, Abby would remain healthy and fit.

An interesting finding from the interview is that Abby and her husband had faced the accident together, however, the reactions of the two to the accident were radically different. While Abby had developed psychological problems following the accident, her husband had become a pillar of support to her. This finding also confirms gender-based differences to stress between men and women. An interesting theory that can be applied in this case is the “stress-related growth” (Pg. 12) which has possibly occurred in Abby’s husband, after the horrible incident which altered their lives resulting in the loss of a dear friend and their unborn child.

The positive impact of stress on individuals has been studied by theorists and researchers, many of whom confirm that stress “which does not kill” makes a person “stronger” (Pg. 12). Studies indicate that individuals faced with stress in their lives found themselves be more self-confident than before with an elevated sense of maturity. This change is illustrated in Abby’s husband and the manner in which he reacts to Abby’s emotional problems and tries to help her overcome them, thereby displaying maturity and concern for her. This is the most positive factor in Abby’s life since research also indicates that by the “support available” to Abby from her husband she will be able to “later report personal growth, increased wisdom growth” in addition to “growth in relationships with others” which will facilitate her to develop a new appreciation of life with an enhanced sense of maturity and self-confidence (Pg. 13).

References

Bee Helen L. & Bjorklund Barbara R. The Journey Of Adulthood, 6/e “Chapter 10 STRESS, COPING, AND RESILIENCE”