POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

A friend of mine sent me this informative piece which I know will be worth your read;

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) revolves around our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects our flexibility to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. Such as financial stress, relationship problems, education, addictions and many more.

This arises from a traumatic experience maybe sexual assault, death of loved one, horrific accidents and kidnappings, burning down of property or even loss of a job. When an individual experiences such scenarios they become depressed and all that lingers in their mind is those events. Such people live in denial, as they continue fighting with the reality they develop depression. Depression leads to hopelessness and lack of enthusiasm. From a personal experience when there is no enthusiasm then what follows is poor performance or results. Be it in school, work place or even in our hobbies.

Many incidents whenever a woman is sexually assaulted or even man for that matter, the society tends to blame it on the individual. Either their dress code, behavior or other lame reasons which might not necessarily be the case. The matter becomes the talk of the day until another major issue arises and it is dropped without any solution to the victim. When we lose our loved ones it maybe a spouse, child, parent, brothers and sisters we are left with a hollow inside our hearts and a good amount of sadness which many people who have not undergone such do not understand. This makes one feel lonely even when they are not alone.one would ask themselves, how is this possible? But I can assure you it is real and it happens. Accidents are also a major source of trauma, victims become disabled losing their hand legs and other crucial body parts. Some even lose their sense of sight. Not forgetting that some of the victims are sole breadwinners for their families.

The list is endless. But the question is, how do we help such victims get back on their feet? And view life from the same perspective they used to. The first major and simple step is empathizing with such people so that they can feel they are not alone and someone understands them, this will make them share more and as they are doing so you will be able to know the best approach to help them. Counseling also works could be from the pastor or from a hospital counselor whichever one finds appropriate. Therapies such as group therapy where people with the same problem sit together in a group and share, activity therapy, and meditation therapy.

Simple activities such as walking in the park, yoga, jogging, shopping in the malls or markets, accompanying them to places of worship, performing house chores together, spending time with friends also distracts their mind and without noticing they forget their traumas and enjoy the moment. If this is done regularly it leads to a lasting result. In case the victim has been left disabled it would be advisable to find them something they can do for occupation, such as selling credit cards, sweets and matchsticks. Which is a stable source of income.

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By the beautiful Mary Nyambura