*Headaches or migraines
*Feelings of panic or fear
*[[Depression ]]*[[Substance abuse ]] or [[addiction]]
==Why are Traumatic Events so Shocking?==
*Don't think about it at inappropriate times
===Why is PTSD Difficult to Diagnose?===
The sufferer may not want to admit to having symptoms, because he or she doesn't want to be thought of as weak or mentally unstable, which they are convinced will result in social ostracism (rejection, contempt, isolation), being helplessly victimized or attacked ([[bully]]ing), involuntary hospitalization, and/or a damaging permanent loss of confident self-respect. Doctors and other professionals may feel uncomfortable if the sufferer tries to talk about gruesome or horrifying events. People with PTSD often find it easier to talk about the other problems that go along with it - headache, sleep problems, irritability, [[depression]], tension, substance abuse, family or work-related problems. The signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder have been tragically mistaken for signs of [[Possession|demonic possession]]. The possibility of demonic possession or oppression is almost non-existent, and should be the last suspicion. If anyone is observed experiencing any conditions suggestive of possession, experienced pastoral care counsellors, mental health and medical professionals, and experts in paranormal phenomena and research, all strongly advise immediately contacting a physician for further evaluation. A medical consultation should always be the first step.
==Children and PTSD==
PTSD can develop at any age. Younger children may have upsetting dreams of the actual trauma, which then change into nightmares of monsters. They often re-live the trauma in their play. For example, a child involved in a serious road traffic accident might re-enact the crash with toy cars, over and over again. They may lose interest in things they used to enjoy. They may find it hard to believe that they will live long enough to grow up. They often complain of stomach aches and headaches.
== PTSD and WWII == Colonel Dave Grossman and Bruce K. Siddle wrote in their work the "Psychological Effects of Combat" which was published in the Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict:{{Cquote|During World War II, 504,000 men were lost from America's combat forces due to psychiatric collapse--enough to man 50 divisions. The United States suffered this loss despite efforts to weed out those mentally and emotionally unfit for combat by classifying more than 800,000 men 4-F (unfit for military service) due to psychiatric reasons. At one point in World War II, psychiatric casualties were being discharged from the U.S. Army faster than new recruits were being drafted in. Swank and Marchand's World War II study of US Army combatants on the beaches of Normandy found that after 60 days of continuous combat, 98% of the surviving soldiers had become psychiatric casualties. And the remaining 2% were identified as "aggressive psychopathic personalities." Thus it is not too far from the mark to observe that there is something about continuous, inescapable combat which will drive 98% of all men insane, and the other 2% were crazy when they got there... It must be understood that the kind of continuous, protracted combat that produces such high psychiatric casualty rates is largely a product of 20th-century warfare. The Battle of Waterloo lasted only a day. Gettysburg lasted only three days--and they took the nights off. It was only in World War I that armies began to experience months of 24-hour combat, and it is in World War I that vast numbers of psychiatric casualties were first observed.<ref>[https://archive.md/rxoj6#selection-279.0-279.136 "Psychological Effects of Combat"] By Dave Grossman and Bruce K. Siddle, Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, Academic Press, 2000.</ref>}}==References==<references/>[[categoryCategory:Mental healthHealth]][[categoryCategory:Psychiatry]][[categoryCategory:Psychiatric Disorders]][[categoryCategory:psychologyPsychology]]
[[Category:Veterans]]