Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental illness. It arises in the person after an accident like an accident, terrorist attack, fight, earthquake, rape, or sexual harassment. Although physically they look fine, mentally they cannot recover from this incident for a long time and they cannot live as before. PTSD is a problem that affects every aspect of a person’s life. That accident keeps on running in the mind of the person like a nightmare and flashback. Apart from this, he can also cause a lot of harm to his caregivers and close ones and it takes a long time for him to recover. People especially in India are unaware of what PTSD is and how it affects it.
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Ten out of every hundred people experience post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives. People who suffer from this disorder may show symptoms such as depression, anxiety, fear of leaving their home, physical complaints, irritability, inability to work, or trouble sleeping.
Psychologist Anuja Kapoor explains that women are more likely to develop this disorder than men. Also, genes can play an important role in developing PTSD. It can be challenging for people with this disorder to take the right steps to help themselves. However, with the right treatment, you can get better.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced a natural disaster, serious accident, terrorist attack, the sudden death of a loved one, war, violent personal assault such as rape, child abuse, or life-threatening encountered other incidents.
Often the family members are happy that their loved one survived the accident, but they do not understand the fact that through nightmares and flashbacks, the incident keeps emerging in their minds. Due to a lack of understanding, the victim feels depressed, irritable, and anxious. Experts who treat such patients on a daily basis say that empathy for a person suffering from this problem helps to a great extent in getting him out of the mouth of PTSD. If someone close to you is suffering from a PTSD problem, then keep these ten things in mind.
Be patient
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance are the five stages, says Dr Vikas Deshmukh, a psychiatrist practising in Navi Mumbai. According to him, these stages are found in a person suffering from PTSD. The family members are in a hurry to bring the victim from the depression or denial stage to the acceptance stage. The victim should be left to recover slowly on his own without putting any pressure on him. It is very important for the family members to have so much patience.
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Talk to them and let them speak too
Talking to a person with PTSD helps him get out of the accident faster. While talking to him, do not mention any painful accident and do not put any pressure on the patient to talk. According to the doctor, it is very important to be patient here too. Let the victim have their say.
Agree with their views
Psychiatrist Dr Amitabh Ghosh believes that the caregivers of the victim should not argue with him or else the patient may become more agitated. Instead, they should agree with the patient’s point of view. Sexual assault and rape victims often feel that they blame themselves for the incident and curse their fate. In the end, all you have to do is let them bash as much as you want. This brings you to the next point.
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Do not blame the victim
In Indian society, people blame the victim of rape and sexual assault only. They believe that they themselves have feasted on this event. Victims of this accident become afflicted with guilt. If someone dies in this accident, they don’t want to keep themselves alive. They even hold themselves responsible for someone else’s death. Dr. Ghosh says that in such cases the victim should not be held responsible. People should keep in mind that accusing and blaming the victim is not the solution to the problem. This hurts the confidence of the victim.
Help
They may need the help of a psychiatrist or counsellor as in some cases they need their help emotionally. Dr. Deshpande says that if your close one wants to go to a psychiatrist, then do his best to help him. It is very important to give him medical help especially when he has been a victim of rape. Keep in mind that in addition to a psychologist and psychiatrist, show him to a gynaecologist.
Not to mention that topic
A person with PTSD suffers from nightmares weeks after the accident. Don’t scratch his wounds by talking about that unfortunate incident. Dr. Ghosh says not to mention the incident in front of the person and give him time to forget everything.
Be careful with children
Children’s mind is delicate and influential. Therefore, parents should take care that they do not talk about this incident in front of the children. There is also a case in which a child succumbed to symptoms of PTSD because his parents had mentioned the accident with his grandmother to the child. After this, the child also started having nightmares and he started getting scared. Dr. Ghosh says that even while playing he used to do strange things related to that incident.
Take care of nutrition
It is natural for the sufferer to lose their cortisol level due to an imbalance of hormones and low immunity in case of excessive stress. This makes them deficient in nutrients and increases the risk of diseases. Dr. Ghosh says that attention should be paid to the diet of such patients and they should be given balanced food regularly. Give them plenty of water and make sure they eat a full meal. The help of a dietician can also be taken for this.
Be calm while taking care of them
The person suffering in critical condition just wants someone to be with him in his illness. The person taking care of him should keep talking to him calmly. Dr. Deshpande says that if you want to tell bad news in front of such people, then control your emotions.
Accept them unconditionally and help
A PTSD sufferer is emotionally fragile and experiences depression, guilt, and feeling helpless. This is the time when they start interacting with people and avoid social interactions. The people taking care of such a person should not let him feel helpless and should help him.
