Trauma – PTSD

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -kipco wrote: > Hi Folks! > The following appeared in my mailbox.  I have no idea what the answer > is.  Can someone else help? > > Once diagnosed with PTSD will it go away without treatment? > > Response appreciated. > I believe that a fair amount of people with untreated PTSD commit > criminal acts and/or commit suicide.  I suspect that PTSD does not > continue after death, but I do not know.  I suspect that PTSD would > become ‘worse’ in a jailhouse situation, but I haven’t been there nor > done that. > I cannot imagine why one would want to avoid treatment for a diagnosed > condition. > Smile and there will be something to smile about! > Nancy

Nancy, About whether PTSD will go away if untreated. This experience happened in our VA Hospital: A older veteran had a heart attack and while they were bringing him into the hospital, on the way to surgery he was hollering "Get those Jerries (sp?-what they called germans in WWII) away from me." Also he was talking about being surrounded, and was having all kinds of flashbacks. (This is not a isolated incident) This guy (in his 80’s) hardly missed a day’s work in his life. His son and daughter said that he never showed any signs of trauma. Our counselors told us once a person has been traumatized they usually "stuff their feelings." In some they may surface sooner and in others a heart attack, stroke, etc., triggers it. Some never have any symptoms of PTSD at all. The point they were trying to make was if someone says "I went through 20 wars and I feel fine, it doesn’t bother me." They told us to respond to that with "Thank God, (or whoever) that you do not have any problems, and remember your life is not over yet." Any kind of stress (death in the family, etc.) can and does trigger it (PTSD symptoms) in many cases. So some (and most) who are traumatized show all or most of the symptoms. A small percentage are not affected at all, and then there are many others who are either misdiagnosed, do not admit it, cover it up, or escape by self medicating, go to prison for some violent crime, etc., without PTSD being recognized as the problem. So therapy and medication help us to let the air out of that "balloon that we stuffed" very slowly. If we let it all out at once, excuse the expression but we would be like a "fart in the wind." Nobody would know where or when "our feelings would go or end up at." Not to mention the people that we would runover and hurt while we were out of control. Just my 2 cents, Don

Response:

kipco wrote: > Hi Folks! > The following appeared in my mailbox.  I have no idea what the answer > is.  Can someone else help? > > Once diagnosed with PTSD will it go away without treatment? > > Response appreciated.

My guess is it would depend on one’s definition of "go away". It’s kinda like one’s definition of "cured", when it comes to PTSD. For a diagnosis of PTSD the person would have to fit the definition. That means (from DSM IV) they are experiencing: -persistent reexperiencing of the traumatic event (Criterion B) -persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (Criterion C), and -persistent symptoms of increased arousal (Criterion D) -The full symptom picture must be present for more than 1 month (Criterion E), and -the disturbance must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social. occupational, or other important areas of functioning (Criterion F). My personal experience has been that all of this doesn’t "go away". It may change forms and appearance, but once it reaches the point of meeting the diagnosis, it’s impacted a life enough that it’s not going to go away. Most people I’ve known who do not get treatment after meeting the diagnosis (and I’ve known more than a few, including friends and my father-in-law), usually turn to forms of self-medication to deal with the fallout from PTSD. Avoidance is a good coping tool, but we still meet the diagnosis when we avoid or deny. Alcohol, marijuana, religion, sex, co-dependence, food, isolation, etc can seem to make it go away. Did it go away, or maybe just change appearance? One group of therapists and victims I’ve met believe that it will go away if you avoid further trauma, distance yourself in time from the event, and move on with your life. I think this was a prescribed approach for a period of time, but that current day PTSD research disagrees with this approach. The book that helped me a lot with this was "Traumatic Stress" edited by van der Kolk. > I believe that a fair amount of people with untreated PTSD commit > criminal acts and/or commit suicide.

I agree, big time, on this one. Especially with crimes of violence. Doesn’t make it right, but does explain "why". > I suspect that PTSD does not > continue after death, but I do not know.

I guess someday we’ll find out….. > I suspect that PTSD would > become ‘worse’ in a jailhouse situation, but I haven’t been there nor > done that.

I think it depends on what happens in a jailhouse situation, and how it relates to trauma and the events that brought on the PTSD. Given that most of our jailhouses on a State and Federal level, and sometimes a county level, maintain systems that perpetuate rape within the prison … > I cannot imagine why one would want to avoid treatment for a diagnosed > condition.

I can. It hurts too damn much and the alternative of numbing out hurts a lot less, tho in the long run it causes much more damage and pain, and maybe even a shorter life span. Jim

Response:

Hi Folks! The following appeared in my mailbox.  I have no idea what the answer is.  Can someone else help? > Once diagnosed with PTSD will it go away without treatment? > Response appreciated.

I believe that a fair amount of people with untreated PTSD commit criminal acts and/or commit suicide.  I suspect that PTSD does not continue after death, but I do not know.  I suspect that PTSD would become ‘worse’ in a jailhouse situation, but I haven’t been there nor done that. I cannot imagine why one would want to avoid treatment for a diagnosed condition. Smile and there will be something to smile about! Nancy

Response:

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