Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder andThe Best Way To Treat It

Individual Written Argument

AP Seminar
 Marcin Rzeszutek, graduate from the University of Warsaw with a Ph.D and currently

working in the Department of Individual Differences Psychology, states “US national

epidemiological studies have shown that approximately 83–89% of Americans experienced at

least one potentially traumatic event (PTE) in the course of their lives, and in the past 6–12

months, PTSD prevalence among Americans ranged from 3.8% to 4.7%” (Rzeszutek). PTSD can

have a huge impact on a person’s life in a variety of ways. According to Liana Zanette, PhD

professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada,

“Demonstrating that predator-induced fear can cause PTSD-like changes in the brain and

behaviour in wild animals establishes the empirical linkage between their disciplines, which

growing numbers of biomedical scientists studying PTSD, and ecologists, are recognizing exists”

(Zanette). In other words, demonstrating that fear can cause changes in the brain, possibly

developing PTSD and other mental illnesses. The author is speaking about animals in this piece

of evidence and humans are very different compared to animals, however, when it comes to

PTSD, fear, and mental challenges, humans and animals can be very similar. If PTSD is

developed then it can negatively impact a person in multiple ways. Tel Aviv University graduate

in public relations, Naomi Fine, defines post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as “a debilitating

and tenacious condition that involves a core impairment in the control or regulation of negative

emotions” (Fine). This definition of PTSD displays the emotional pain PTSD can cause. Due to

the severity of the impacts of PTSD on abused women, this begs the question: What is the best

solution to help women in their 20s-50s who are negatively impacted by PTSD from their

previous abusive relationships? After an extensive amount of research on causes and impacts of

PTSD on women, the most effective solution is implementing integrated care systems.
 PTSD can greatly impact women in their 20’s to 50’s and it is important that they can be

treated, if not, many aspects of their lives will be impacted. The impacts of PTSD are highly

disrupting and should be taken very seriously. Harvard University graduate with her PhD in

Epidemiology, Jiaxuan Liu, states “Those with unresolved PTSD symptoms had lower levels of

parental education, had higher BMI, were more likely to be current smokers, and had higher

levels of depressive symptoms” (Liu). This piece of evidence explains some of the impacts

unresolved PTSD can have on people and the negative correlations between PTSD and quality of

life. Although PTSD has negative impacts on a person’s life, not every person experiences the

same PTSD or the same impacts as others. Different sources of PTSD impacts people differently.

According to health and safety writer at University of Hawaii, Debra Vandervoort, “Surveys of

women who have experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as adults have often found

that the emotional abuse was reported to have been the most devastating” (Vandervoort). Not

only do different types of trauma impact women differently, trauma from emotional abuse, the

most common type of trauma, has the worst impact on women. These impacts can affect a

certain aspect of people’s lives, however, if left untreated, then the impacts of PTSD can spread

and negatively affect almost every aspect of their life. Dr. Noemi Roland, who has her MD-PhD

and works in Epidemiology, states “Women who experienced violence have specific needs,

arising from the often-repeated and complex nature of the trauma. They also tend to accumulate

other risk factors for poor mental health, such as economic insecurity, parenting stress, and social

isolation” (Roland). Using Dr. Roland’s logic, even though these women experienced physical

abuse and PTSD would stop them from physically getting close to others, it can impact other

aspects of life and cause other issues such as job loss and economic debt, absence or impairment

in their quality of parenting, and a loss of connection between friends and family due to social
isolation. There are many impacts that PTSD can have on someone, but there are also many

factors that contribute to the development of PTSD.

Of these many factors that contribute to the development of PTSD, a combination of

different factors can lead to a more severe development of PTSD. According to Assistant

Professor Mihret Melese at the University of Gondar, who works in the Department of Human

Physiology, “Several factors have been identified as contributing to the development of

depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These factors included older age,

gender (specifically being female), monthly income levels, unemployment status, experiences of

rape or sexual abuse, witnessing the murder of family or friends, enduring physical harm such as

torture or beatings, incarceration, and deprivation of fundamental needs such as food, shelter, and

water” (Melese). Older women are more likely to be impacted by PTSD compared to younger

women or men however it depends more on the original trauma the person with PTSD

experienced. Someone who was emotionally abused will develop PTSD and react differently

compared to someone who was physically abused or someone who witnessed the murder of a

loved one. However, it is common that someone who has gone through one traumatic event will

go through multiple and this can undoubtedly raise the chance of having unresolved PTSD.

According to licensed clinical social worker, Laura Acero, who has her Master’s degree in social

work from Rockefeller’s School of Social Work, “The results of this study revealed that

survivors of rape, abuse, or sexual assault had experienced an average of up to 5 traumatic

events, with physical violence (55.9%), sexual harassment (45%), and accidental or violent death

of a person or loved one (43.2%) being the most prevalent” (Acero). If the average person

experiences up to five traumatic events, depending on the severity of the event, it is more likely
than not that person will develop PTSD and will experience negative impacts to almost all

elements of their life. However, some people may sustain certain aspects of life even though they

are greatly affected by PTSD. PhD candidate at Sinai Centrum & Utrecht University, Laurien

Meijer, who is studying effects of PTSD on parenting and the prevention of intergenerational

transmission of trauma, states “Interestingly, parents with PTSD often manage to sustain positive

parenting behaviors (e.g., involvement, monitoring) despite their challenges” (Meijer). If parents

are mentally strong and can force themselves to put in the effort to continue parenting well, the

PTSD will not affect their parenting but still may affect other aspects of their lives. Although

PTSD can be detrimental, if one is willing to seek treatment there are options.

There are many impacts PTSD can have on someone’s life, however, there are also a few

treatment options. PTSD, the person affected by PTSD must seek treatment. PTSD will not

disappear randomly however there are some treatment options. According to Jennifer R. Smith, a

graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a Ph.D The participants who were

acknowledged and encouraged by others (e.g., friends, family, mentors, co-workers, and

therapists) to feel their emotions, including rage and anger, emotions that were real and

necessary and should not be suppressed, considered this critical to their healing from PTSD, as

well as to learning how to honestly and openly relate to others (Smith). According to this

evidence, a good way to start treatment for PTSD is to stay around caring people and reduce

isolation. These people may be open to helping and diminishing traumatic emotions by allowing

them to be expressed. Another way to treat PTSD is through therapy, but without being

diagnosed with PTSD, people may not know that they need to be treated. According to Dr.

Cancilliere, a clinically trained pediatric psychologist with special interests in youth psychiatric
risk in the emergency department, “PTSD can be confused with other disorders, such as

attention-deficit/hyperactiv-ity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder, panic disorder,

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, and psychotic disorder due to their

corresponding and often overlapping symptomatology” (Cancilliere). PTSD can be confused

with many other disorders and without going to a mental health professional, a wrong

self-diagnosis is common. This leads into the best option for treatment, implementing Integrated

Care. Dr. Niko Wilson, a licensed mental health counselor with a focus on psychotherapy for

individuals, couples, and families, states “Integrated care can provide the opportunity to detect

PTSD in patients and provide trauma-informed mental health care” (Wilson). At a yearly routine

checkup, integrated care would also include a mental health checkup during that annual routine

checkup. This way, integrated care would help diagnose PTSD without having to go to a

professional. It would also help reveal any unknown mental illnesses that may not have been

apparent before. Dr. Carri-Ann Gibson, a psychiatry specialist practicing, states “Integrated care

models will prove to be of incredible assistance to all of our primary care providers because

these clinicians also individually struggle to manage the complexities of both PTSD and chronic

pain” (Gibson). In other words, most doctors and primary care providers don’t know how to aid

with both physical, chronic pain, and mental struggles. If integrated care was implemented,

mental illnesses would be diagnosed way more often. As long as people attend their annual

checkup, they can be checked for both physical and mental injuries or illnesses.

PTSD is a very painful, tenacious disease and it can be caused in many ways, have many

impacts on women’s lives, but there are also multiple solutions. Staying social and implementing

integrated care are amazing ways to treat PTSD, however, if a person with PTSD does not want
to seek treatment and does not want to put in the effort, it is extremely hard for PTSD to go away

and for these solutions to work. On the other hand, if someone is willing to put the effort into

treating PTSD, these solutions work perfectly. Being more social and staying beside people who

care will usually prevent these flashbacks of trauma from occurring but even if it occurs, people

beside you will all be there and would be happy to help. Implementing integrated care would

allow people to find out that they have a mental illness such as PTSD and with this diagnosis,

people can now take the proper steps to treatment such as therapy and truly opening up to loved

ones about their trauma. If both of these solutions were implemented and used together, it can

bring the rates of PTSD down tremendously and the success rate of treating PTSD will rise

significantly. Although some people might bring up issues to do with cost, this would only apply

to therapy. Even though therapy is a good way to treat PTSD, it is not the only way. Both

integrated care and being social are very cost efficient and are both perfectly effective ways to

treat PTSD and improve women’s lives.

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