Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
- What Is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Causes
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Children and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
- Medical Care
- Prevention
- Outcome
- For More Information
- Web Links
- Synonyms and Keywords
- References
- Authors and Editors
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Although terrorism may cause the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people directly involved, most people are resilient and won’t have serious lingering effects. They will have memories, certainly, but will go on to live their lives without debilitating fear.
No one knows who will develop long-term effects. Seek medical care if you suspect you or someone you know has aftereffects that just aren’t going away a few weeks after a traumatic event. These are the behaviors to watch for in loved ones, coworkers, friends, and family.
The main symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks, emotional detachment, and jumpiness.
- Flashbacks: Imagine experiencing the most terrifying horror movie you’ve ever seen playing over and over in your mind. You can’t make the images go away. These are the flashbacks so commonly associated with PTSD and usually are thought of in connection with combat veterans in war.
- Survivors of 9/11, for example, may keep seeing the plane hitting the building, hearing the sound of the crash, or reliving their desperate escape, and these images may occur either while the person is asleep (nightmares) or awake.
- Flashbacks take the person out of reality. They are truly living the experience over again. Holocaust survivors are one example of a group of people with a common horrifying experience. Many of them living in Skokie, Ill, experienced flashbacks of wartime Berlin and being herded to concentration camps when they heard the sound of police-car sirens more than 30 years later.
- Emotional detachment: Emotional detachment is a second symptom of PTSD, which is often not as obvious outwardly to anyone other than the person experiencing it. For these people, their emotional systems are in overdrive. They have a hard time being a loving family member. They avoid activities, places, and people associated with the traumatic event. They are simply drained emotionally and have trouble functioning every day.
- A parent who is emotionally detached, or numb, might be unable to cope with raising children.
- The children, in turn, may develop poor social relationships, as was seen with some children of Holocaust survivors. They can’t form loving bonds. This is the second generation of fallout from PTSD on a mass scale.
- Jumpiness: Any sudden noise might startle you, but for someone with PTSD that noise would make them practically "jump out of their skin” (known as hyperactive startle reflex). These people might overreact to small things and have difficulty concentrating, which would affect their job performance. They may always be looking around as if searching their environment for danger (this is hypervigilance). Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep in this high state of arousal is also a common consequence.
Next: When to Seek Medical Care »
| Printer-Friendly Format | | | Email to a Friend |
Emotional Wellness
Get tips on therapy and treatment.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Everyone worries now and then and that's healthy. But for some people, unrelenting worry interferes with their ability to enjoy life. See more WebMD Videos »
Cymbalta is approved for the treatment of depression.
Important Safety Information
Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) is approved for the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder, and for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.
What should I talk about with my healthcare provider?
Patients on antidepressants and their families or caregivers should watch for new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have thoughts of suicide or if any of these symptoms are severe or occur suddenly. Be especially observant within the first few months of antidepressant treatment or whenever there is a change in dose.
You should also know that:
- ·Suicide is a known risk of depression and some other psychiatric disorders.
- ·Antidepressants may increase suicidal thoughts or behaviors in some children, adolescents, and young adults especially within the first few months of treatment or when changing the dose. No increased risk has been shown for adults over age 24, and risk decreased for those over age 65.
- ·All patients starting therapy should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for new or worsening depression symptoms, suicidal thoughts or behavior, or unusual changes in behavior.
- ·Cymbalta® is not approved for use in patients under age 18.
Who should NOT take Cymbalta?
You should not take Cymbalta if:
- ·You have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
- ·You have uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma (an eye disease)
- ·You are taking Mellaril® (thioridazine)
What other important information should I discuss with my healthcare provider?
Before starting Cymbalta, tell your healthcare provider:
- ·about all of your medical conditions, including kidney problems, glaucoma, or diabetes
- ·about your alcohol use
- ·if you are taking nonprescription or prescription medicines, including those for migraine, to address a possible life threatening condition
- ·if you are taking NSAID pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. Use with Cymbalta may increase bleeding risk
- ·if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant during therapy, or are breastfeeding an infant
While taking Cymbalta, tell your healthcare provider:
- ·if you have itching, right upper belly pain, dark urine, yellow skin/eyes, or unexplained flu-like symptoms, which may be signs of liver problems. Severe liver problems, sometimes fatal, have been reported
- ·if you have high fever, confusion, and stiff muscles to address a possible life-threatening condition
- ·before stopping Cymbalta or changing your dose
- ·if you experience dizziness or fainting upon standing, especially when first starting Cymbalta or when increasing the dose. Your healthcare provider may periodically check your blood pressure while you are taking Cymbalta
If you have any questions, talk to your healthcare provider before taking Cymbalta.
What are the possible side effects of Cymbalta?
The most common side effect of Cymbalta was nausea. For most people who had it, the nausea was mild to moderate. Other common side effects included dry mouth, sleepiness, constipation, decreased appetite, and, increased sweating. This is not a complete list of side effects.
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder »
The formal diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was not introduced into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders until its third publication in 1980.
|
Explore 80+ Centers
- Allergy
- Allergy Medications
- Anaphylaxis
- Antidepressants
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Baby's Health
- Back, Neck, Head Injury
- Bioterrorism, Warfare
- Blood, Lymphatic System
- Bone, Joint, Muscle
- Brain, Nervous System
- Breathing Difficulties
- Burns
- Camping
- Cancer, Tumors
- Children's Health
- Cholesterol
- Cold and Flu
- CPR, Choking
- Cuts, Scrapes, Bruises
- Dementia
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Diabetic Coma, Insulin Shock
- Digestive System
- Dislocations
- Drowning
- Drug Overdose
- Ear, Nose, Throat
- Emotional Wellness
- Endocrine System
- Environmental Injuries
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Exercise, Nutrition
- Eye, Vision
- Fainting
- Fever
- First Aid, Emergency
- First Aid Kits
- Food Poisoning
- Foreign Bodies
- Fractures, Broken Bones
- Glaucoma
- Headache
- Health, Medical
- Heartburn, GERD, Reflux
- Heart, Blood Vessels
- Heart Attack
- Hepatitis
- Immune System
- Incontinence
- Infections
- Kidneys, Urinary System
- Lung, Airway
- Medications
- Men's Health
- Mental Health, Behavior
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Nosebleeds
- Osteoporosis
- Outdoor Living
- Overexposure
- Poisoning
- Procedures
- Psoriasis
- Public Health
- Scuba Diving, Swimming
- Seizures
- Senior Health
- Shock
- Skin, Hair, Nails
- Sleep Disorders
- Social, Family Health
- Sports Injury
- Sprains, Strains
- Statins
- STDs
- Substance Abuse
- Teen Health
- Teeth, Mouth, Oral Health
- Weight Management
- Wilderness Emergencies
- Women's Health
- Wounds
Search Medical Dictionary
eMedicineHealth does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See Additional Information.