It is often difficult for some individuals to calmly cope with certain traumatic events that occurred at some point in their lives, which leave them with deep emotional and psychological scars. It is a common mechanism for these people to react badly with fear and anxiety when these events are brought up. Normally, such reactions fade within weeks or a couple of months after the occurrence of these events. However, when these reactions are consistently recurring over a long period of time, the affected individuals are said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.
The symptoms of PTSD could be severe enough to greatly impair the overall quality of the lives of every victim. Fortunately, there are several ways to alleviate the possibility of a downward spiral through medication and psychotherapy. There is also one form of intervention that is also proven effective in addressing the various effects of PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that occurs right after a first-hand experience of a traumatic event, or right after witnessing a life-threatening incident. According to psychiatrists, medical professionals, and insurance broker Officer VIC, PTSD is mostly associated for military personnel making the transition from active military combat back to their normal family life. However, PTSD can be triggered by other events such as mass violence, serious accidents (e.g. car crashes, train accidents), natural disasters, and physical or sexual abuse experienced in childhood or adulthood.
People suffering from PTSD experience three key symptoms:
- PTSD sufferers relive the traumatic events in their nightmares and/or flashbacks. For instance, a movie scene wherein gunshots are heard may trigger a traumatic memory for a person who experienced a similar event wherein gunshots were heard, like a bank robbery or even war. Such instances may result in the person getting upset and helplessly terrified. Such a trigger feels like he or she was right back at the exact time he or she experienced the traumatizing event.
- PTSD sufferers try to avoid anything that would remind them of the traumatic events, from people, places, sounds, smells, to sights. Apart from making distractions, they go as far as numbing themselves, which makes it difficult for them to be in touch with what they really feel and have a hard time expressing them to other people.
- PTSD sufferers become constantly alert, making it difficult for them to concentrate and do their daily activities because they always try to look out for any imminent signs of danger. This key symptom involves sudden outbursts of anger, irritability, and sleeplessness. Indeed, sufferers of PTSD cannot keep themselves calm.
As the supposedly normal reactions towards a traumatic event eventually progresses to PTSD, sufferers experience other problems that further compound the situation. These include depression, drug and/or alcohol abuse, and other health problems. However, what is more concerning is the fact that PTSD is often associated with dysfunction in the sufferers’ social and/or family life.
Many PTSD sufferers seek medication and psychotherapy to reduce the symptoms associated with the disorder, but they also seek the professional help of life coaches to make themselves better. Hence, it is important for any individual suffering from PTSD to have an insurance broker Officer VIC who can help him or her. Insurance plays an important role for these individuals.
On the aspect of life coaches working with PTSD sufferers, the formers’ role towards the latter is to help them conquer their fears and be able to completely have closure over dark chapters in their lives. Life coaches, after learning about the plight of the PTSD sufferers and the strengths and weaknesses they have, challenge them from time to time to overcome the hindrances that make them suffer the symptoms of PTSD.