What are the Types of Trauma that Causes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
This week I continue my series on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by looking at the types and causes.
II. What are the Types of Trauma that Causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
According to http://www.medicinenet.com/posttraumatic_stress_disorder
Virtually any trauma, defined as an event that is life-threatening or that severely compromises
the physical or emotional well-being of an individual or causes intense fear, may cause PTSD. Such events often include either experiencing or witnessing a severe accident or physical injury, receiving a life-threatening medical diagnosis, being the victim of kidnapping or torture, exposure to war combat or to a natural disaster, exposure to other disaster (for example, plane crash) or terrorist attack, being the victim of rape, mugging, robbery, or assault, enduring physical, sexual, emotional, or other forms of abuse, as well as involvement in civil conflict. Although the diagnosis of PTSD currently requires that the sufferer has a history of experiencing a traumatic event as defined here, people may develop PTSD in reaction to events that may not qualify as traumatic but can be devastating life events like divorce or unemployment.
It is an interesting observation that the traditional “Trauma Principle” discussed in my last post has been broadened to include trauma where the “zone of danger” is no longer requisite. In my experiences, I am most exposed, as a consumer rights attorney, to those individuals who suffer traumatic events that injure either themselves or someone with them. The following is a summary of such common events and others that can cause PTSD.
- Vehicular Trauma
There is no denying that a vehicle weighing several thousand pounds can cause injury, trauma and even death. That is typical in cases of car “accidents.” But consider for a moment, big rig trucks carrying heavy loads of cargo or hazardous materials. Think of train wrecks and airplane crashes. As I state on my website, before there were trains, planes and automobiles, we simply did not travel or crash in the manner we see quite frequently today.
- Industrial Trauma
Industrial settings – factories, oil refineries, construction sites, and other blue collar work places – have a high potential for accidents. Work related trauma could well be any trauma that is sustained while at work or on the job. Sometimes trauma can be very job specific like falling off scaffolding. Other times it could be like any other; a truck crash while hauling dirt. The point is trauma related to the job can result in PTSD.
- Criminal Assaults
Statistics of criminal assault are staggering. When a person is attacked, beaten or hit, a trauma occurs. In cases of of negligent security, one can see how criminals and trespassers could gain access to apartments, hotels and other public sites and commit crimes that include injury to the victim.
- Sexual Assaults
Sexual assault is defined as any sort of sexual activity between two or more people in which one of the people is involved against his or her will.
The sexual activity involved in an assault can include many different experiences. Women can be the victims of unwanted touching, grabbing, oral sex, anal sex, sexual penetration with an object, and/or sexual intercourse.
- Child Sex Abuse
- Terrorism
Veterans, like other people, respond to traumatic events in a number of ways. They may feel concern, anger, fear, and helplessness. These are all normal responses to an abnormal event. Research shows, though, that people who have been through traumas in the past may be even more likely than others to be affected by new events such as terror attacks and war.
- Torture
- The Holocaust
- War Trauma
Now that the war in Iraq is over, the return of military personnel will reveal the residual injury of war, PTSD. The signature injury has already been well recognized by the military and government. Getting care will be the next challenge.
Experts think PTSD occurs:
§ In about 11-20% of Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom), or in 11-20 Veterans out of 100.
§ In as many as 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) Veterans, or in 10 Veterans out of 100.
§ In about 30% of Vietnam Veterans, or about 30 out of 100 Vietnam Veterans.
- Natural or Man-Made Disasters
Every year, millions of people are affected by both human-caused and natural disasters. Disasters may be explosions, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados, or fires. In a disaster, you face the danger of death or physical injury. You may also lose your home, possessions, and community. Such stressors place you at risk for emotional and physical health problems.
Trauma producing post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD – comes in many shapes and sizes and not in a one size fits all. As an attorney whose practice is defined by the significant cases of traumatic brain injury handled over the years, I am often disappointed at how difficult it is to convince insurance companies, defense lawyers and defense experts of the relation of trauma to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD.
Next week we will continue our discussion of post-traumatic stress disorder. We will look at the treatments used to manage it and will look at the nuances PTSD brings to litigation.
