"Hannah, age 55, was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross country trip. Ever since, she has been unable to drive on major highways. Although she does drive, she goes to great length to travel only on back roads and scenic routes. She is able to go where she wants but it often takes her much longer to get there than it should."
Hannah is suffering from post-traumatic stress, due by the onset of a life threatening car crash. Her inability to drive on the major highways for 20 years shows that she experiences distress at exposure to external stimuli that remind her of the accident. She has a persistent avoidance of stimuli the "highway" because of her avoidance of highways for over 20 years which indicates that it is still a problem in her life. She shows a mild form of hypervigilance by having an exaggerated belief that by not driving on the highway she could some how avoid accidents. By having this problem for over 20 years it shows that it is in a chronic state.
Possible treatments for her case could be trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy. "Cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD and trauma involves carefully and gradually “exposing” yourself to thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind you of the trauma. Therapy also involves identifying upsetting thoughts about the traumatic event–particularly thoughts that are distorted and irrational—and replacing them with more balanced picture."
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/post_traumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/ptsd.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
This was a very interesting post. I think that your explanation of PTSD was very thorough, and I think that your treatment idea makes a lot of sense. It seems that PTSD can really mess people's lives up; I've heard about veterans from Iraq who have PTSD and are frightened by almost any sudden loud noise. I hope I never get PTSD! :)
One thing I think you should do to improve this article is to make it more clear that the first paragraph is seperate from the rest of the post; maybe you should put quotation marks around it. Anyway, good job!
Good job. I don't really see why you have brackets around the last couple of sentences, but it is still good! :)
good job! this was very descriptive and easy for me to follow. nice key points.
I think your post was very interesting. I was pretty easy to follow as well. I agree that you should have made the separation of the first paragraph more evident. Overall, it was great!
PTSD is pretty darn scary. IT can really mess even the most solid of people. Defintely Therapy she be in that person's near future.
post traumatic stress disorder really sucks. good treatment and good post, trevor.
Wow it seems that post-traumatic stress disorder can have a huge impact on one's life. You did a good job with choosing a right treatment.
very interesting!
great job, very detailed analysis! I think therapy is one of the more effective treatments.
Good job in your analysis of Hannah's disorder. You pinpointed it and diagnosed it in a proper fashion. Your diagnosis is especially good because many people would just prescribe pills to help make the stress go away. However, one complaint that I have is that your title says "Anxiety Disorder" but then you talk about PTSD.
Very interesting how the effects of a traumatic event can consume a person's life. I believe it was a good diagnosis and very good description of the disorder. Provides a good amount of treatment options. Great Job.
Post a Comment