News Does ptsd require trauma?

[Gs172003]

Does PTSD require really trama?

Does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Require Trauma?

I don't know what to think about this

 

[Deleted member 37474]

The thing that I find interesting is that whether it is trauma or severe stress like the severe illness of a loved one or divorce... it all points to situations where we feel our control has been taken away from us.

The two years prior to my late onset ptsd, my child had bad flare ups of Graves’ disease. The stress in dealing with the school district and treatments was really difficult. This was followed by extreme work stress including a work-bully that somehow set late onset ptsd in motion from a past rape situation. What if the rape really had nothing to do with the cause of my ptsd... okay, actually I know it did, because that is where the flashbacks keep taking me, but I could see this anxiety disorder becoming broader in the criteria, just as this article suggests.

 

[EveHarrington]

Criterion creep.

People can then be diagnosed for things like divorce. (Rolls eyes.)

And then, before you know it, PTSD cure rates skyrocket.

 

[Sideways]

The article talks about a couple of studies that found that people with significant stressors, but not trauma, had higher rates of ptsd symptoms. They didn’t conclude that those people actually met the criteria for ptsd, nor did they discuss whether those peoples’ symptoms might be better described by some of the other mental disorders that are caused by different types of trauma. Ptsd isn’t the only “trauma caused this” disorder anymore.

This might be explained by the timing of the studies the article refers to, which predate the DSM 5. The DSM IV classed ptsd as an anxiety disorder. Despite what this article says, ptsd is no longer considered an anxiety disorder, it is one of a range of disorders now identified as being caused by trauma.

So, ptsd may have been the only trauma disorder being considered by those studies, but this is outdated. The people found in those studies to have “ptsd symptoms” could well be better diagnosed with other trauma-related disorders under the new DSM 5.

 

[hodge]

I'm thinking maybe the criteria should include the length of time of symptoms, like more than three months. I've had this for more than a decade. I've done tons of work to deal with my traumas and symptoms and I still fall into the severe range every time my T or psych checks me. But then I've lived through about 10 traumas, so, I don't know.

 

[Justmehere]

My first thought.... no trauma, then it's not Post *Traumatic* Stress....

 

[hodge]

My first thought.... no trauma, then it's not Post *Traumatic* Stress....

That was my first gut reaction, too.

 

[EveHarrington]

It would be Post “I went through something shitty” stress disorder.

 

[Gs172003]

My first thought.... no trauma, then it's not Post *Traumatic* Stress....

Good point!

 

[Deleted member 37474]

The definition of trauma is “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.” So... how would divorce or the severe illness of a child not qualify as trauma in some situations? Obviously for it to count for ptsd, you would have to have those other markers, too. And would people get those from divorce or a child’s illness, probably not. But maybe someone would? I just don’t know.

 

[Friday]

The definition of trauma is

You know how flat & sharp mean something different in musical terminology than in everyday/colloquial use? How they have very specific meanings all their own? Same in medical terminology.

Take distress, for example (I actually own a medical dictionary :wtf: but it’s in storage, so this is from experience using the word professionally).

Coloquial - Upset, unhappy, afraid
Medical - At risk of failure (respiratory distress > respiratory failure > death)

Respiratory distress? We’re talking asthma attack, or severe pneumonia, not winded from running up a flight of stairs. And the same rule applies for emotional distress. Think of how you’d react if your kid was raped and killed. THAT’S the level of emotional upset that the medical term is going for. Out of your mind. Not just needing a drink after work & a hot bath with candles to put everything to rights. Sedation & restraints. Suicide watch.

Trauma means injury.
Severe means life threatening.
Distress means at risk of failure, which also means life threatening.
Failure, means lethal (Unless immediately corrected).

 

[Mee]

You know how flat & sharp mean something different in musical terminology than in everyday/colloquial us...

There is still the argument of the necessary impact for the creation of these circumstances. one might consider ‘eggshell skull’ preexidtance, as legal students are taught.

I have wondered why the event that triggered ptsd for me was THE event that did. I have lived through ‘worse’ on paper , to other people. To me THIS was the worst and the trigger and indeed my life before it cannot be excluded as part of what made me ‘mee’ and why this event was the ... no I will not call it a straw, it was not a straw.... the huge piece of wood that broke the camels back :)

That it didn’t happen for other triggers ..is interesting. That it did for this is .... what it is. It’s clear to me, my therapist, my husband, a couple of my closer friends.