preview

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Analysis

Decent Essays

Today, 42.5 million Americans suffer from a mental illness. There are many different types of mental illnesses that affect over half of the population. Some are more severe than others, but still equally important. Two of the common disorders you hear about today are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, abbreviated PTSD, is a disorder that occurs in a person who has gone through a traumatic experience. Some examples of situations are people who have been physically, mentally or emotionally abused, people who have been in combat, people who have been in an accident, or who have gone through a natural disaster, such as a hurricane. This causes all of the body's resources to focus solely …show more content…

According to a study done in 2011, it was suggested that National Guard troops were at a higher risk level of developing PTSD. One result summary from the article was that a majority of soldiers, which was 430 out of 516, screened asymptomatic for PTSD symptoms before they were deployed. It was also found that 86 out of those 516 had pre-existing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and 19 out of those 516 had post-traumatic stress disorder prior to deployment. Those who were assessed at their follow up, it was found that 48 of 349 had screened positive for post deployment PTSD. The screenings for the rates were for the reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms before and the new onset of possible post-traumatic stress disorder at a follow up, post deployment. Troops were asked questions prior to a deployment and then asked again during their return from deployment. It was found that 13.8% of the troops had developed PTSD after their deployment. (Polusny et …show more content…

OCD is also considered to be genetic. If a parent or sibling is diagnosed with OCD, there is a twenty-five percent chance that it can be passed along. Before diagnosing a patient with OCD, a physician will have some blood tests done to rule out any other medical illness that can cause symptoms of OCD or to ensure that no illegal drugs are the cause of the issue. Once these issues are ruled out, physicians rely on a questionnaire that is gone over with the patient. In order to be diagnosed with OCD, a person must have obsessions, compulsions, or both that affect their work, relationships, or daily life. These issues normally need to last at least an hour a day for it to be classified as

Get Access