The symptoms and diagnosis of PTSD

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing a traumatic event, requiring comprehensive treatment and support to navigate it.

Here, Dr Pravir Sharma, renowned consultant psychiatrist, offers his expert insight into the causes, symptoms, and the treatments available for PTSD.

What is PTSD?

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is understood as a psychological and physical reaction to a traumatic event that has happened in someone’s life. This traumatic event is sudden and almost life-threatening in proportion.

When someone is suddenly exposed to such an event, like a road traffic accident, the experience leaves certain psychological and physical impacts that can arise later on.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Sometimes, symptoms may start immediately. Other times, symptoms start within a month of the event.

These symptoms include:

• Flashbacks: Flashbacks are recollections – images, sounds, memories – of the event as it happened that come into your mind without volition during your waking period.
• Nightmares: Nightmares are when recollections come into your dreams and wake you up from sleep.
• Hyper-vigilance: Hyper-vigilance is a state of the mind and body where you are expecting something terrible to happen, you can't relax, and you are very easily startled by loud noises. This period of hyper-vigilance can last for a few days to a few months.
• Development of a phobia: The phobia can be of the event that has occurred or something similar. For example, someone who has had a road traffic accident may develop a phobia of traffic or a phobia of cars. This phobia can last for months to years if it's not treated.
• Sustained change in mood: Someone’s mood can become anxious and/or depressed.

The symptoms of PTSD are very amenable to treatment, and this is why it's necessary to recognise and diagnose them early on.

What are the causes of PTSD?

Any traumatic event which is very severe, sudden, and life-threatening – for example, a serious road traffic accident or a violent personal assault – can give rise to PTSD.

How is PTSD diagnosed?

The characteristic features of PTSD include:

1. A sudden, severe, and life-threatening traumatic event.
2. Symptoms that start within a month of that event.
3. Symptoms that fall under one of these five categories: flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, development of a phobia, sustained change in mood.

How is PTSD treated?

Treatment consists of a trauma-focused CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), where cognitive techniques and methods are employed focusing on the trauma and its experience.

The first part of this therapy involves the diagnosis and treatment of depression and/or anxiety problems. The second part involves EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) therapy, which is delivered under the guidance of a specialist.

PTSD symptoms require diagnosis and regular monitoring through psychiatric consultations and a complete course of trauma-focused CBT sessions, which may range from 10 to 15 sessions.

If you are living with symptoms of PTSD, don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr Pravir Sharma via his Top Doctors profile today.