PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Chat Support Group
How does PTSD develop?
Most people who are exposed to a traumatic, stressful event experience some
of the symptoms of PTSD or Post traumatic stress disorder in the days and weeks
following exposure. Available data suggest that about 8% of men and 20% of women
go on to develop PTSD, and roughly 30% of these individuals develop a chronic
form that persists throughout their lifetimes.
The course of chronic PTSD or Post traumatic stress disorder usually involves
periods of symptom increase followed by remission or decrease, although for
some individuals symptoms may be unremitting and severe. Some older veterans
who report a lifetime of only mild symptoms have experienced significant increases
following retirement, severe medical illness in themselves or their spouses,
or reminders of their military service such as reunions or media broadcasts
of the anniversaries of war events.
1. Those who experience greater stressor magnitude and intensity, unpredictability,
uncontrollability , sexual (as opposed to nonsexual) victimization, real or
perceived responsibility, and betrayal.
2. Those with prior vulnerability factors such as genetics, early age of
onset and longer-lasting childhood trauma, lack of functional social support,
and concurrent stressful life events.
3. Those who report greater perceived threat or danger, suffering or being
upset, terror, and horror or fear.
4. Those with a social environment which produces shame, guilt, stigmatization,
or self-hatred.
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