It can be a car accident or a natural disaster, a home invasion or a national tragedy, domestic violence or military combat – any experience that might kill or cause physical harm.

A traumatic event can have long-lasting effects on a person’s mental health, comprising nightmares and clouding everyday life. But post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a treatable condition, and those who have it often lead normal lives.

CAUSES

“Post-traumatic stress disorder has been called a lot of things for the last 150 years,” said Cassandra Nichols, the director of WSU’s Counseling Services. “The symptoms are very similar whether the trauma is related to military trauma, sexual assault trauma, physical abuse trauma – the common denominator here is trauma.”

PTSD is defined in terms of change or damage to a person’s “fight-or-flight” response, which can occur after a traumatic experience. People who have it might feel stressed or frightened even when they are no longer in danger.

PTSD first came to the public’s attention in relation to military veterans and wartime experiences, “but in the last 30, 35, 40 years,” Nichols said, “there’s been a recognition that trauma doesn’t just happen in the military.”

Other causes, listed above, can occur in any environment and affect people of all ages – children included.

“It actually doesn’t take very much in comparison to develop PTSD in a child,” Nichols said, noting that a child’s ability to gauge risk of harm is not fully developed.

PTSD occurs at a higher rate among women than among men, and some research suggests that susceptibility to the disorder runs in families. A person can develop PTSD after witnessing a friend or family member endure a dangerous or traumatic event.

“There’s types of vicarious trauma,” Nichols said. “If they were not abused, but they witnessed somebody who they thought was going to be very seriously harmed, they can get it.”

Brian Sharpless, the director of WSU’s Psychology Clinic, said researchers have recently realized trauma can come vicariously, as well.

“Since the most recent edition of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) came out, repeatedly hearing the details of traumatic experiences from other people can count as a qualifying traumatic event,” Sharpless said.

The effects of PTSD are often accompanied and amplified by depression, substance abuse or another anxiety disorder.

SYMPTOMS

PTSD is characterized by a multitude of symptoms, many of which can interrupt a person’s daily routine. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) groups them into three categories: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyperarousal symptoms.

Re-experiencing symptoms include frightening thoughts, bad dreams and waking flashbacks in which a person repeatedly relives a traumatic experience. These might also involve physical symptoms, like a racing heart or sweating.

“People with post-traumatic stress disorder really suffer, often, from really debilitating nightmares,” said Bruce Wright, the executive director of Health and Wellness Services. “They suffer from really severe insomnia.”

Avoidance symptoms involve the environment that surrounds a person with PTSD. They include staying away from places, events or objects that remind a person of a traumatic experience. After a bad car accident, for example, a person who usually drives might avoid driving or riding in a car.

Other avoidance symptoms include having trouble remembering the traumatic experience, feeling emotionally numb, feeling strong guilt, depression or worry, and losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past.

“I don’t think a college environment is necessarily more stressful for patients with PTSD than any other environment, as every trauma patient is different,” Sharpless said.

Hyperarousal symptoms include being easily startled, feeling tense or “on edge,” and having angry outbursts or trouble sleeping.

“Growing up in an unpredictable environment can affect you biologically,” Wright said. “So you’re sort of hyper-vigilant. It’s hard to feel like the world is overall a safe place, so you develop sort of an anxious demeanor toward the world as a whole.”

TREATMENT

“It’s certainly treatable,” Sharpless said. “There’s a lot of evidence that suggests you can improve many cases of PTSD in a relatively short amount of time.”

Psychotherapy or “talk” therapy is the most common treatment for PTSD. One form of psychotherapy is exposure therapy, which helps people face and control their fear through writing, mental imagery and visits to the site of the traumatic event.

“It sounds kind of counter intuitive,” Wright said, “but actually there’s a ton of evidence that these types of therapies, in a controlled and guided fashion with a skilled therapist, are very helpful treatments.”

Another form of psychotherapy, called cognitive restructuring, helps people make sense of their bad memories and view them in a realistic way. Oftentimes, people with PTSD remember events inaccurately and feel guilt or shame about what is not their fault.

Wright noted that medication is another option and can be highly effective in conjunction with professional therapy.​