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What is Ptsd Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying or traumatic event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts about the event, and avoidance of situations related to the trauma. These symptoms last more than a month and significantly impair daily life and functioning.
About 8% of people experience PTSD in their lifetime. It can occur after combat exposure, sexual assault, natural disasters, serious accidents, abuse, or other trauma. PTSD changes the brain’s response to fear and stress. Without treatment, symptoms can last for years or even be lifelong.
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Brain changes

PTSD causes physiological changes in the brain, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The amygdala controls fear and emotion. In PTSD, the amygdala becomes hyper-reactive, triggering excessive fear responses. The hippocampus manages memories and context. PTSD impairs hippocampal functioning, so traumatic memories are stored strongly but without context. The prefrontal cortex oversees thinking and decision-making. PTSD weakens prefrontal activity, causing more intense emotional reactions.
These brain changes explain PTSD symptoms like flashbacks and nightmares, where trauma memories intrude uncontrollably. They also explain the hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response, constantly on guard for danger. Brain imaging shows these regions function abnormally in PTSD patients.

Treatments

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PTSD treatments help the brain process memories and fear responses differently. Psychotherapy, like cognitive processing therapy or exposure therapy, can gradually help control fear and build coping skills. Medications like antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs can ease symptoms like depression, anxiety, insomnia and anger. EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) helps process traumatic memories differently to reduce their intensity. Combining psychotherapy with medication is often the most effective approach.

With proper treatment, PTSD symptoms can be managed. The brain can learn to handle fear and memories in a healthier way. Though memories of trauma may never fully fade, treatment can prevent them from controlling and crippling a person’s life.