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PTSD is, “A syndrome of intrusive re-experiencing, avoidance and emotional numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms that occurs in some individuals in the aftermath of a traumatic event” ( DeJonghe , Bogat , Levendosky , & Eye, 2008, p. 294).
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What constitutes a traumatic event will differ from person to person. DeJonghe et al., (2008) defines a traumatic event as, “when a person is in a situation or sees a situation that is life threatening or a demeaning of physical integrity which causes that person to feel fear, hopelessness, or horror” (p. 294). One person may experience a situation and be traumatized but another may experience the same situation and not be traumatized by it.
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PTSD can be caused by the trauma experienced by abused or battered women. The trauma that induces PTSD may be one distinct incident or a compilation of trauma over time. ( DeJonghe et al., 2008, pp. 294-300). Similarly, soldiers can experience one traumatic event and suffer from PTSD or it may result from a series of traumatic events. However, PTSD does not afflict every person who experiences trauma. One person may experience trauma repeatedly and never acquire PTSD while another person may go through the same situation and develop PTSD.
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Flashbacks Battered women and soldiers can suffer from the PTSD symptom of “re-runs” of past traumatic experiences. This can happen in any form. One such type of re-run is the flashback, which is a replay of the traumatic event. They can be triggered by smell, taste, tactile, or events and can cause fear and anxiety as if the abuse or trauma is happening right now. Dreams are another type of re-run. They may be about a traumatic memory or about something else mimicking the memory ( Ullman , Najdowski , FIlipas , 2009). PTSD can cause symptoms that make it difficult to function without some kind of reminder of what traumatic event occurred. Women with PTSD will experience and re-experience symptoms such as an intrusive memory that they cannot get out of their head ( Ullman , Najdowski , FIlipas , 2009).
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Triggers A person with PTSD may be reminded of his or her experience or experiences by encountering a trigger. A trigger is something that reminds the individual of the traumatic event. Triggers can take many different forms. It could be a certain smell that triggers their memories of the traumatic situation. It can be a taste or sound. For example, the taste of blood in the mouth of a battered woman can trigger a memory of a time when the woman tasted blood during a traumatic event. A combat soldier’s trigger for a traumatic event could be when he or she is surrounded by many people and it brings on the memory of an IED explosion carried by an assumed non-combatant.
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Treating PTSD Treatment can be done in many ways to help PTSD victims. Some PTSD sufferers are assisted with therapeutic measures such as: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Other victims are able to achieve some relief of symptoms through the use of medications such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ( DeJonghe et al., 2008, pp. 294-300). Other treatment methods to assist in the alleviation of PTSD symptoms are talk therapy and social support. Just as trauma can affect battered women similar to veterans, treatment is quite similar as well.