This week we are considering Chapter 4 in the Recovery Guide. Why is PTSD a problem? I get this question quite often, and it’s not just skeptics or naysayers who bring this up. Many people honestly want to know. The line of thinking goes something like – “the person survived the trauma didn’t they?” Their actions and skills somehow got them through the worst possible experiences. This sounds like a very strong person. How then could the results be something that would be a problem, much less be a group of symptoms that would be considered a mental disorder?
The fact is that this is a very strong person. The inner fortitude, resilience, and will to survive are incredibly strong in persons who survive traumas.
However, there are 2 major reasons that the lasting results in PTSD are problematic. First, the general rule that has to be met for something to be considered a mental disorder is that the symptoms must cause some kind of problem, reduced functioning, limitation, or difficulty in important areas of the person’s life.
In PTSD, a person often experiences concentration and mental focus difficulties. Confusion is common, and it can feel like you are being interrupted constantly by the intrusive thoughts coming from your own worst memories. Emotions can feel overwhelming, resulting in outbursts of anger or a general “numbing” of most all feelings. It is common to have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Getting close to other people does not feel safe, so most relationships in the person’s life suffer. Arguments, outbursts, and fights (physical or verbal) are common. I’ll let you decide if this overall pattern meets the general rule about symptoms causing problems in important areas of the person’s life.
The second reason that the behaviors that result in PTSD can be problematic is that they are too extreme to be effective in most typical daily situations of civilian life. Instead of swatting a fly with a fly swatter, the person uses a bazooka. Instead of a slight change in your voice to make a point, there is yelling. Instead of getting a little irritated with a minor inconvenience, there is full blown rage that produces physical fighting or breaking things (and sometimes people). At the other extreme, there is complete isolation and withdrawal from situations that feel threatening or overwhelming. As a result, the behaviors that result from PTSD do not match the reality of many normal daily situations, and are usually some version of “overkill.”
Chapter 4 in the Recovery Guide concludes with an explanation of the expectable course of untreated PTSD. The end result is depression, chaos, confusion, fear, and the ruin of the person’s life, with much damage done to those around them. There is a summary of life before treatment, and also the positive side of the story when a person applies him- or herself to good treatment.
There is hope. People do reach high levels of healing and recovery. A much better life can be lived. I hope you find and achieve this for your own good and for the good of those you love.
