1. By: Angelica Vega POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

2.  What are the effects of PTSD on the brain?  Can you have PTSD without remembering every detail of the traumatic event? ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

3.  It is an anxiety disorder that can develop after being exposed to a traumatic event.  A type of anxiety disorder.  Can occur at any age after having gone through a traumatic event.  Approximately 7.7 million adults in America have PTSD. WHAT IS PTSD

4.  First brought to the publics attention by war veterans.  Swiss Military physicians (1978)  Once known as a psychological disorder associated only with veterans of the Vietnam War. ORIGINS OF PTSD

5.  Genes – scientists are focusing on research that determines what role genes play in creative fear memories  Brain areas – studying parts of the brain that deal with fear helps to better understand  Amygdala is active in fear acquisition  PFC stores extinct memories and dampens original fear response CAUSES

6.  Re-experiencing Symptoms  Avoidance symptoms  Hyperarousal symptoms SIGNS & SYMPTOMS

7. Includes:  Flashbacks  Bad dreams (nightmares)  Frightening thoughts This can cause problems with one’s daily activities. Words, objects, or situations that remind one of the traumatic event can trigger re-experiencing. RE-EXPERIENCING SYMPTOMS

8. Includes:  Staying away from places, situations, events or objects that can trigger memories of traumatic event.  Feeling guilty  Feeling depressed  Feeling emotionally numb  Having trouble remembering the event Things that remind one of the traumatic event they faced can cause avoidance symptoms. May cause them to change one’s routine. For example, if a person witnessed or experiences a roller coaster malfunction/accident, he or she may shy away from roller coaster. AVOIDANCE SYMPTOMS

9. Includes:  Being easily startled  Having trouble sleeping  Feeling tense Usually constant rather than being triggered by reminders of the traumatic event. Can make a person feel angry and stressed out all the time which can cause day to day activities hard to fulfill. HYPERAROUSAL SYMPTOMS

10.  Symptoms of PTSD typically begin within 3 months of the traumatic incident  Occasionally they occur years after  PTSD can be diagnosed if any of theses have occurred for a month:  One re-experiencing symptom  Three avoidance symptoms  Two hyperarousal symptoms HOW IT IS DIAGNOSED

11.  Living with PTSD can be very difficult  Can cause a lot of stress  Depression  Take away the enjoyment of everyday life activities  Can cause loss of close friends and families  Anger  Makes it hard to get anything done LIFE WITH PTSD

12.  Exposure therapy  Cognitive therapy  Stress inoculation training HOW IT IS TREATED

13.  Helps people face and control their fear by exposing them to the their trauma in a safe way.  Uses imaginary, writing, and even visits to location of traumatic event.  Therapist tries to help people with PTSD deal with their feelings in a good manner. EXPOSURE THERAPY

14.  Helps people make sense of their bad memories (in some cases people remember the incident different than how it truly occurred).  May feel guilt and/shame even when its not their fault.  The therapists job is to help people look at what happened in a realistic manner. COGNITIVE THERAPY

15.  Attempts to reduce PTSD symptoms by teaching people how to reduce anxiety  Skill binding rehearsal: helps deal with emotion regulation, relaxation, cognitive appraisal, fear conditioning, etc..  Helps people view their memories in a healthy way (like cognitive restructuring). STRESS INOCULATION TRAINING

16.  Not all remember traumatic event clearly  Some have full and vivid memory  Often times it’s the memories that trigger it all. MEMORIES

17.  "PTSD - Emerging Science." YouTube. YouTube, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014..  National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK). "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder."PubMed Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 May 0000. Web. 20 Mar. 2014..  "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014..  Bentley, Steve. "The VVA Veteran--A Short History of PTSD." The VVA Veteran. Vietnam Veterans of America, Mar.-Apr. 2005. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.. WORK CITED