Symptoms And Symptoms Of Ptsd - 1383 Words

Symptoms Diagnostic Criteria The symptoms of PTSD vary greatly, they may present as involuntary recurrent fear-based memories, dreams, or flashbacks of the traumatic event that are intrusive and disturbing (DSM-5, 2013). Or PTSD might present as withdrawal from normal activities as a measure to avoid distressed memories or social reminders of the event. Post-traumatic stress may even display selective memory, or distorted cognitions of the traumatic event. Some PTSD patients present to be extreme pessimists, having negative beliefs about themselves and the world around them. They may have persistent negative emotions or have frequent anger outbursts. The patient may lose interests in activities they once enjoyed. Some experience†¦show more content†¦To be diagnosed with PTSD, the patient must have been exposed to an actual or threatened death, injury, or other form of violence, and have at least one intrusive and persistent symptom following the event for a period greater than one month (DSM-5). And the intrusive symptom must present as significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other form of functioning (DSM-5). Trauma the key factor to diagnoses is clearly defined as including, â€Å"exceptional, life-threatening or potentially life-threatening external events and those associated with serious injury, which are capable of causing a psychological shock in practically any individual to a greater or lesser extent† (Frommberger et al. 2014). Frommberger and colleagues note that studies have shown that traumatic events contribute to other psychological illnesses like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, substance abuse, and psychosis, which makes a distinctive diagnosis difficult. Seventy percent of all chronic PTSD patients have been found to have at least one other psychological comorbidity (Frommberger et al. 2014). There are other potential sources of error in the diagnosis and treatment process, such as feeling of guilt may lead the patien t to conceal problem symptoms, thus the diagnostic criteria may not be met. Or during trauma-focused therapy, the patient consistently maintains avoidance, thus exposure measures will be ineffective (Frommberger et al.