Bria Riggs

Mental Illness Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder more commonly called PTSD can occur after a person has been through a traumatic event. (US Department of Veteran Affairs, 2014) The traumatic event could be war exposure, child abuse, terrorist attack, serious accidents, natural disasters, or sexual/physical assaults. During these traumatic events the person feels as if they do not have control over what is happening or the person feels frightened. PTSD affects 7.7 million American adults but it can also affect children as well.(NIMH) The symptoms of PTSD may not appear until months or years after the traumatic event has occurred. (US Department of Veteran Affairs, 2014) However there are four types of symptoms of PTSD which are re-experiencing, avoiding situations that bring back memories of event, negative changes in beliefs & feelings, and hyperarousal. (US Department of Veteran Affairs, 2014) Furthermore risk factors for PTSD are usually associated with an individual witnessing a traumatic event first-hand but it can also come from a loved one being harmed. (NIMH) Counseling and medication is available to treat individuals with PTSD. Counseling can help individuals use relaxation and anger control skills. (NIMH)While Zoloft and Paxil are the medications used to treat this illness, they are both antidepressants. Those medications treat sadness, worrying, anger, and numb internal feeling. (NIMH) Moreover work and stress are the social determinants of health that fit this illness. Work is the sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result. (3) For example a person in the military, they work under intense conditions on a daily basis. Those intense conditions include daily exposure to war and seeing harm done to others which are both causes of PTSD. Also the high level of stress

Bria Riggs

that a person has after experiencing a traumatic event can take a toll on their mental health. Stress is defined as a physical, chemical, emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation. (Webster) PTSD relates to college students because college students are a diverse group of individuals. Everyone has experienced different things in their lifetime, which makes it very possible for someone to have been a victim of child abuse or a natural disaster. Both being triggers for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are a lot of counseling choices available to college students sometimes it may be anonymous peer advice or a counseling service provided by the university. Furthermore it is shameful to know that the United States still places stigma on individuals that are mentally ill. Those individuals are viewed as insane, dangerous, crazy, and as violent people. This stigma makes many individuals so ashamed that they do not seek treatment for their mental illnesses. Veterans are most commonly stereotyped in the media for having PTSD. The media portrays many veterans as individuals who are on the verge of violence which is not true. (Syracuse University, 2014) This media portrayal affects how employers view veterans with PTSD. Also this perpetuated stigma can cause individuals with the illness to have lower self-esteem or the individuals can begin to believe the myths that the media perpetuates. This violates the ethical principle of justice because it treating individuals unfairly due to an illness that is out of their control.

Bria Riggs

References

NIMH. (n.d.). Post-traumatic stress disorder(ptsd). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml Syracuse University. (2014). Understanding and overcoming the stigma of ptsd. Retrieved from http://toolkit.vets.syr.edu/article/understanding-and-overcoming-the-stigma-of-ptsd/ US Department of Veteran Affairs. (2014, January 17).Ptsd:national center for ptsd. Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/PTSD/public/PTSD-overview/basics/what-is-ptsd.asp Webster, Noah. "Work, Stress." Retrieved from The merriam-webster dictionary. New York: Pocket, 1977.