Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a common psychiatric disorder that can occur following the exposure to or witnessing life-threatening events such as natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, military action perhaps violent personal assaults. Most survivors of the traumas suggested tend to return to normal after a few months; however, there are times when some people will have stress reactions that do not go away, or even get progressively worse. As a consequence, it is these individuals who might develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through flashbacks, nightmares, emotional detachment, insomnia (have difficulty sleeping), and numbing of feelings (emotional self-mortification). It is possible that these symptoms can be severe enough and regular, which can significantly impact the person's daily life.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often identified when there are biological changes as well as a number of psychological symptoms. PTSD is also complicated as it can occur in conjunction with related disorders such as mental health, depression, memory problems and even substance abuse. Furthermore, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be associated with a person's disability to communicate and perhaps function effectively in family life.


PTSD is often treated by Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), which is a powerful psychological technique also known as 'power therapy' or adaptive information processing' and can relieve many types of emotional distress caused by trauma or critical incidents safely and rapidly.