Fear Comes in Many Forms: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

My aunt is never afraid of a challenge; she can get on the highest roller coaster, go bungee jumping, even cliff diving. Makes me wish I could have that kind of courage. But there is one BIG thing that she could never do. Unfortunately, she had a traumatic experience with WATER as a child, and now, if she ever heard of a task that involved water; her spine would start to shiver, her breathing would become more shallow, she would also say that her heart felt like it was about to explode.  You think you know someone at first, but then they could change into a completely different person if being placed into a traumatic setting. She could be diagnosed with what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a typed of anxiety disorder that could occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. In her case, its severeness is only minimal than compared to the most common risk factor for this disorder: WAR VETERANS.

Veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD may have witnessed people who were injured or dying, or may have been physically injured during the mission. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling anger and irritability. Take this clip for example; in the movie Stop-Loss, actor Channing Tatum plays a character of a soldier who shows the effects of PTSD. His friend/squad member finds him drunk, digging up a foxhole in his front yard and his wife with a bruise on her face. Steve (Channing Tatums character) felt like he was back at the military base and Brandon (the friend) was unable to get through to him.

The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. It is not known WHY traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not others. This just gives us another reason why FEAR is our greatest weakness.