Do you remember that accident you survived a while ago? If you have actually survived, because if you are still stuck in it, and the details of the painful experience – whatever kind – are still hunting you from time to time with the same feelings, panic, and accompanying disturbances, forcing you to run away from everything connected with it. Therefore, you haven’t survived yet, and that is known scientifically as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
It is one of the anxiety disorders and is caused by stressful or frightening events that a person may experience. These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to affect a person’s day-to-day life. (more than 4 weeks). [1]
Any situation that a person finds traumatic can cause PTSD, mostly including serious road accidents, violent assaults, illnesses, serious health problems, and childbirth experiences. [1]
In addition to wars, natural disasters, terrorism, and witnessing violence and death. [2]
The disorder can develop immediately after a person experiences a disturbing event, or the symptoms can take a few weeks, months, or even years to start appearing. [1]
Also read: What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
Someone with PTSD often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability, and guilt. The person may also have difficulty concentrating and sleep problems such as insomnia and nightmares.[1] The person with PTSD may also have suicidal thoughts and panic attacks. [2]
Sometimes these symptoms show up as a result of long-term exposure to traumatic situations، not only a specific single event, which is known as ‘Complex Traumatic Stress Disorder’, and it is caused by repeated exposure to traumatic situations such as severe neglect, abuse, and violence, and can cause similar symptoms to PTSD and may not develop until years after the event. It’s often more severe if the trauma was experienced early in life, as this can affect a child’s development. [1]
It is estimated that PTSD affects about 1 in 3 people who have previously experienced a traumatic experience, but the reasons, which are developing in some people and not others, are still not completely clear, although there are some possible risk factors that increase the incidence of this disorder, among which are: having a history of mental health disorders such as panic disorder, depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder, not receiving enough support from family and the surrounding community after experiencing a traumatic event. In addition, the brain structure and hormones may play a role in the development of PTSD. [2]
Fortunately, PTSD can be successfully treated, even when it develops many years after the traumatic event, and the treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms and their duration. First, the symptoms are monitored to see whether they improve or get worse without treatment, then Pharmacotherapy comes; such as antidepressants, and psychological therapies such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). [1]
It must be noted that there are some “resilience factors” that may make PTSD less likely to occur, including having a strong support network, learning positive coping strategies to process negative emotions, and feeling good about the actions you took when you experienced the traumatic event. [2]
Ten years of ongoing conflict and wars that have killed thousands of people and caused the displacement of millions, must lead to serious psychological problems that can’t be easily overcome. The British organization “Syria Relief” conducted a survey on 721 Syrian young men and women in Lebanon, Turkey, and the province of Idlib in northern Syria. The conclusion was that 75 percent of them suffer from at least seven symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The psychotherapist and Dr. Jida al-Hakim commented on saying: that it is ‘not strange’ the fact that a ‘large part’ of Syrians suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after ten years of war, because the disorder may show up many years after experiencing the trauma. [4]
We, Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative, stress the importance of raising awareness of this disorder, especially after many years of war in Syria, which can cause all kinds of trauma, including assault, terrorism, witnessing violence, and death. We also note that women are more likely to suffer from this disorder than men, as one in 10 women develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. [3]
♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.
References:
[1] NHS
[2] Health Line
[3] OWH
[4] BBC News