When examining the interrelationship of posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders you find that PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder. There are five types of anxiety disorders; phobias, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Anxiety disorders are a component of most psychological disorders and many organic disorders. Anxiety is a common complaint of most hospitalized patients. The most common dysphoric emotions known to individuals are anxiety.
Dysphoria or dysphoric felling is an unpleasant emotion that causes psychological distress or conflict. It is a vague, uneasy feeling that the source of which is not known or may be unspecific to the patient. Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is an uneasy feeling due to a known cause. The basic cause of anxiety is an unconscious conflict between the psyche and the environment or in the psyche itself. There are four distinct levels of anxiety. The first is mild, the person’s senses are hyper alert and they are aware of their environment.
The moderate level sees a person whose perceptual abilities decreased. The severe level is when the person’s perceptual abilities are markedly diminished, meaning his attention span is scattered. And the last panic is characterized with paralysis or is severely agitated. They are usually filled with terror. The object of anxiety is overwhelming in its intensity (Greenfield, 1985). Looking subjectively, which is described by the patient, there is increased tension or apprehension.
There is a painful and persistent increase in helplessness. The person might be uncertain, fearful, scared, regretful, overexcited, rattled, distressed, jittery, feeling inadequate, worried and anxious. Looking objectively, which is symptoms, observed by the doctor, one could see cardiovascular excitation, superficial vasoconstriction, pupil dilation, restlessness and insomnia. A person with a posttraumatic stress disorder has experienced a catastrophic event such as a plane crass, hurricane or war that anyone would see as stressful.
It is common for persons recovering from such an event to experience marital stress, illness or a difficulty functioning at work, but a person who develops this disorder is unable to work through dysphoric feelings and unpleasant thoughts that follow the trauma and instead suppresses them in his unconscious (Barry, 1990). The person with this disorder continues to experience unpleasant feelings and fears about the catastrophe that do not diminish with the usual passing of time.
He experiences decreased interest in relationships and external events. The lack control over distressing memories or dreams of the events and have sudden sensations of the event beginning again. The individual has survival guilt, sleeping disorders or difficulties with memory or concentration. Some Viet Nam veterans experience this disorder as do victim of childhood incest and abuse. When symptoms persist for six months or longer, the disorder is considered to be chronic.
And when symptoms do not occur until six months after the even, it is a delayed onset of posttraumatic stress disorder. Pre-existing psychopathology can predispose someone to this disorder. But this disorder can develop in anyone, especially if the stressor is extreme (Barry, 1990). The focal point of the treatment would be the PTSD. Treatment would include reducing the target symptoms, preventing chronic disability, and promoting occupational and social rehabilitation.
Specific treatment may emphasize behavioral techniques, such as relaxation therapy to decrease anxiety and induce sleep or progressive desensitization; anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy to minimize the risks of dependency and being chronic. Support groups are highly effective and many veterans’ administration centers and crisis clinics have them. A group setting is appropriate for most degrees of symptoms. Physical, social and occupational rehabilitation programs are also useful.
With many patients treatment for depression, alcohol or drug abuse is needed. Treatment may be complex and prognosis varies (Greenfield, 1988). Other ways would be to encourage the patient to express his grief, complete the mourning process and gain coping skills to relieve anxiety and desensitize him to the memories of the traumatic event. Being careful how the therapist reacts to the event or showing reactions to the event it could hurt the therapy. A therapist might practice crisis intervention techniques and accept the patient’s level of functioning.
The therapist would assume a positive, consistent, honest and nonjudgmental attitude toward the patient. The person suffering from PTSD would have urges to commit physical violence or self abuse (could be displaced i. e. Pounding or throwing items). Posttraumatic stress disorders can happen because of domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse or abuse (Barlow, 1988). When looking at the topics assigned all were intertwined except for schizophrenia which is characterized by disordered thinking and is a sub-category of schizophrenic disorder and includes delusional disorders.
It can be the result of genetics, biology, cultural and psychological factors. It is missing the one factor that seems to interlock anxiety and that is the feeling of fear.
Bibliography:
Barry, P. D. (1990). Mental Health & Mental Illness. Pennsylvania: Lippincott Company. Greenfield, D. (1985). The Psychotic Patient: Medication and Psychotherapy. New York: Free Press. Barlow, D. H. (1988). Anxiety and Its Disorders: The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic. New York: Guilford Press.