- Foster Care Alumni and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- PTSD and Children in the Child Welfare System
- How Children and Adolescents React to Trauma
- Responding to a Child's Acute PTSD Reaction
- Effective Treatment for PTSD
- A Child Welfare Response to Traumatized Children
- Strategies for Agencies and Workers
- Preventing PTSD in Children
- Traumatic Stress and Child Welfare Workers
- Assessing Worker Distress
- Ways Supervisors Can Help Caseworkers Deal With Secondary Trauma
- References
Showing posts with label post-traumatic stress disorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label post-traumatic stress disorder. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Foster Care and PTSD
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Children, foster care and PTSD
Link to articles about how to help and treat children who have PTSD as a result of abuse: http://hubpages.com/profile/krillco
Sunday, July 15, 2007
PMS and PTSD: A bad combination
The reason that PTSD survivors are affected differently from others when faced with the same stressful situation is that person carries a different emotional history inside our bodies. The external event may reawaken the lingering memories of similar events from the past, memories that carry their own set of anxieties.
The residue of emotional trauma from earlier in life can be held deep inside the body where it influences the way we live our lives, and disrupts normal bodily functioning. When an event occurs that is similar to the originating event, it can aggravate the hidden emotions and cause them to flare up, worsening our behavior and exacerbating our physical problems.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
Many people with PTSD repeatedly re-experience the ordeal in the form of flashback episodes, memories, nightmares, or frightening thoughts, especially when they are exposed to events or objects reminiscent of the trauma. Anniversaries of the event can also trigger symptoms.
Emotional symptoms can include:
■ Hypervigilence
■ Exaggerated startle response
■ Irritability or outbursts of anger
■ Heart-stopping terror
■ Emotional numbness
■ Depression, anxiety
■ Feelings of intense guilt
■ Sleep disturbances such as nightmares and recurring dreams of the event
People with PTSD tend to have abnormal levels of key hormones involved in response to stress. Fear, an emotion that evolved to deal with danger, causes an automatic, rapid protective response in many systems of the body. For people with PTSD, the "fight or flight" response becomes inappropriately aroused.
PMS: Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
Emotional symptoms can include:
■ Mood swings
■ Fear, nervous tension
■ Feeling overwhelmed, powerless, out of control
■ Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts
■ Phobias, feelings of suspicion
■ Sleep disturbances
The words used to describe panic disorders are often frightening. But there is great hope: Treatment can benefit virtually everyone who has this condition.
Several types of medication, particularly the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressants, can help relieve the symptoms of both PMS and PTSD.
Additional treatment options:
■ Breathing exercises: Control breathing to avoid hyperventilation
■ Replace alarmist thoughts with calmer ones
■ Approach fearful situations gradually
■ Join a support group
Source:
National Institute of Mental Health
Toll-Free: 1-88-88-ANXIETY (1-888-826-9438)
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
NIMH Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
The residue of emotional trauma from earlier in life can be held deep inside the body where it influences the way we live our lives, and disrupts normal bodily functioning. When an event occurs that is similar to the originating event, it can aggravate the hidden emotions and cause them to flare up, worsening our behavior and exacerbating our physical problems.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
Many people with PTSD repeatedly re-experience the ordeal in the form of flashback episodes, memories, nightmares, or frightening thoughts, especially when they are exposed to events or objects reminiscent of the trauma. Anniversaries of the event can also trigger symptoms.
Emotional symptoms can include:
■ Hypervigilence
■ Exaggerated startle response
■ Irritability or outbursts of anger
■ Heart-stopping terror
■ Emotional numbness
■ Depression, anxiety
■ Feelings of intense guilt
■ Sleep disturbances such as nightmares and recurring dreams of the event
People with PTSD tend to have abnormal levels of key hormones involved in response to stress. Fear, an emotion that evolved to deal with danger, causes an automatic, rapid protective response in many systems of the body. For people with PTSD, the "fight or flight" response becomes inappropriately aroused.
PMS: Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
Emotional symptoms can include:
■ Mood swings
■ Fear, nervous tension
■ Feeling overwhelmed, powerless, out of control
■ Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts
■ Phobias, feelings of suspicion
■ Sleep disturbances
The words used to describe panic disorders are often frightening. But there is great hope: Treatment can benefit virtually everyone who has this condition.
Several types of medication, particularly the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressants, can help relieve the symptoms of both PMS and PTSD.
Additional treatment options:
■ Breathing exercises: Control breathing to avoid hyperventilation
■ Replace alarmist thoughts with calmer ones
■ Approach fearful situations gradually
■ Join a support group
Source:
National Institute of Mental Health
Toll-Free: 1-88-88-ANXIETY (1-888-826-9438)
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
NIMH Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
Recent research on PTSD
According to the National Institute of Mental Health:
■ In brain imaging studies, researchers have found that the hippocampus—a part of the brain critical to emotion—appears to be different in cases of PTSD. Scientists are investigating whether this is related to short-term memory problems. Changes in the hippocampus are thought to be responsible for intrusive memories and flashbacks that occur in people with this disorder.
■ People with PTSD tend to have abnormal levels of key hormones involved in response to stress. Some studies have shown that cortisol levels are lower than normal and epinephrine and norepinephrine are higher than normal.
■ When people are in danger, they produce high levels of natural opiates, which can temporarily mask pain. Scientists have found that people with PTSD continue to produce those higher levels even after the danger has passed; this may lead to the blunted emotions associated with the condition.
For more information:
National Center for PTSD: http://www.ncptsd.org/
Source:
National Institute of Mental Health
Toll-Free: 1-88-88-ANXIETY (1-888-826-9438)
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
NIMH Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
■ In brain imaging studies, researchers have found that the hippocampus—a part of the brain critical to emotion—appears to be different in cases of PTSD. Scientists are investigating whether this is related to short-term memory problems. Changes in the hippocampus are thought to be responsible for intrusive memories and flashbacks that occur in people with this disorder.
■ People with PTSD tend to have abnormal levels of key hormones involved in response to stress. Some studies have shown that cortisol levels are lower than normal and epinephrine and norepinephrine are higher than normal.
■ When people are in danger, they produce high levels of natural opiates, which can temporarily mask pain. Scientists have found that people with PTSD continue to produce those higher levels even after the danger has passed; this may lead to the blunted emotions associated with the condition.
For more information:
National Center for PTSD: http://www.ncptsd.org/
Source:
National Institute of Mental Health
Toll-Free: 1-88-88-ANXIETY (1-888-826-9438)
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
NIMH Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
MICKY: POST - TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
MICKY: POST - TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
Another survivor of the system shares statistics and information about PTSD...
Another survivor of the system shares statistics and information about PTSD...
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