subject: Post Traumatic Stress Can Strike At Any Time But Help Is Available [print this page] Given that what we have come to know as post traumatic stress was first diagnosed in soldiers who served in active combat, it is natural that many people instinctively think of this situation when contemplating the disorder.
There is no doubt that being active in a war will cause anyone to suffer stress, and some of the sights, sounds and consequences of the conflict of war can easily lead to a person suffering from longer-term consequences of this upset. The level of support given to servicemen and women who may have experienced this disorder due to their role in war is increasing but it would be wrong to suggest that this is the only way that people can suffer from post traumatic stress.
This disorder can strike anyone and it is important to remember that people are different and each one can cope with varying levels of stress. Different people have different coping mechanisms in life and some will respond to some situations in a different way from others. Being involved in a car crash can cause some people to suffer a post traumatic stress reaction, but it may not come on for some time. The human body is a wonderful thing and is usually able to cope with stress and conflict at the time of an incident occurring by increasing its adrenaline levels. However, when that early 'buzz' subsides, people may find it difficult to cope with what they have seen or what happened, which leads to them suffering from post traumatic stress.
Post traumatic stress can also be related to something which occurred in a person's childhood. Again, many people have been able to suppress disturbing images or incidents from their childhood but later in life, these memories may return and impact on how they feel or behave. There are many different instances which can cause a person to suffer from post traumatic stress and it may be that professional assistance is required to work through the issues that caused the situation to arise.
It is important to be aware that post traumatic stress disorder can affect people even if they have not been personally affected by a situation or incident. There have been a number of instances where people have suffered post traumatic stress from reading or hearing about a war or natural disaster occurring somewhere else in the world. The impact that the disaster has on their brain causes the person to experience fear and panic akin to the levels they would if they had suffered personally from the incident. This means that post traumatic stress can potentially affect anyone in the world.
