What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Mackenzie Phillips’ confession last week about her family secret of incest has brought the subject of sexual abuse into the spotlight and has prompted victims of sexual abuse to seek help.
Many people experience Post-traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of a traumatic experience such as rape or sexual assault. In fact, victims of sexual assault or abuse are 6 times more likely to suffer from PTSD.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a normal human reaction to an extreme or abnormal situation. Every person has a different threshold for what is perceived as a traumatic event. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is not an unusual occurrence.
Symptoms of PTSD
You may be suffering from PTSD if you have experienced some of the symptoms below after an event where you experienced or were confronted with actual or threatened injury or a threat to your physical well-being:
- Experienced distressing memories of the event in the form of flashbacks or nightmares.
- Regularly avoided things that trigger that reminders of the traumatic event.
- Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much.
- Being easily startled or frightened.
- Sleep difficulties.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Irritability or outbursts of anger.
Read more about PTSD on the Mayo Clinic’s web site.
The Consumerist reports on some interesting news about America’s favorite restaurant, McDonald’s. According to The Consumerist, Stephen Von Worley has figured out that Americans are always at least 107 miles from a McDonald’s!