Post stress trauma is a debilitating condition that can be consequent to a physical or emotional event that has terrified the patient. It has often been noticed in war veterans though it can be caused by any traumatic event that the patient has witnessed, have had it happen to them or has affected a friend or close family member. There are different such instances which include physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual molestation, ritual abuse, family violence, dating violence, kidnapping or abduction as well as serious accidents, and much more.

Children Are More Likely To Be Affected

There are one million children that suffer abuse every year and they are most likely to be affected by post stress trauma, and it can also be evidenced in those that have had other previous traumatic experiences. Some of the risk factors associated with post stress trauma include type of trauma, severity of trauma, and duration of the event, recurrence of the event as well as the individual's own resilience and coping skills, and support available from family, friends as well as community.

Post stress trauma may occur at all ages and includes childhood and it may be accompanied by depression, substance abuse, anxiety as well as self-injurious behavior. The symptoms may be mild in nature or severe, though mostly they seem worse in cases where the traumatic event was initiated by a person rather than because of natural disorders taking place.

However, not every person traumatized person will suffer from post stress trauma though they may experience some form of it in the days and weeks following their traumatic experience, and their symptoms generally disappear with time. For one to be suffering post stress trauma there are certain conditions that must be present in the patient and they include persistent frightening thoughts, flashbacks, avoiding people, places as well as situations associated with the event, emotional numbness, nightmares, problems getting to sleep, depression, physical problems, and a lot more.

Family as well as friends should give support to the patient and this would help them get over some of the post stress trauma, even though, in some cases, the post stress trauma does not show up until months or even years after the traumatic event. Early detection, intervention as well as mental health treatment can go a long way in getting the patient to recover and in such cases; the parents can also play a pivotal role to help the patient get over post stress trauma.