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Their
Inability to Work Out
Avoidance symptoms affect
relationships with others: The person often avoids close
emotional ties with family, colleagues, and friends. At first,
the person feels numb, has diminished emotions, and can
complete only routine, mechanical activities. Later, when
reexperiencing the event, the individual may alternate between
the flood of emotions caused by reexperiencing and the
inability to feel or express emotions at all. The person with
PTSD avoids situations or activities that are reminders of the
original traumatic event because such exposure may cause
symptoms to worsen.
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At Risk For Suicide
PTSD can
cause those who have it to act as if they are constantly
threatened by the trauma that caused their illness. They
can become suddenly irritable or explosive, even when they
are not provoked. They may have trouble concentrating or
remembering current information, and, because of their
terrifying nightmares, they may develop insomnia. This
constant feeling that danger is near causes exaggerated
startle reactions.
Finally, many people with
it also attempt to rid themselves of their painful
re-experiences, loneliness, and panic attacks by abusing
alcohol or other drugs as a "selfmedication"
that helps them to blunt their pain and forget the trauma
temporarily.
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