Disorders: Post-Traumatic Stress

[Delphine]

As we mark 3 1/2 years since Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, with the ensuing flooding of New Orleans, one might realize how a whole city...indeed, parts of a whole geographical area may be suffering from Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The important question is...ARE YOU?

From a publication of the National Institue of Mental Health:

PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones of strangers.


This is more broad than I thought and would indicate a high incidence of PTSD.


PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wreck, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.

People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotinally numb, lose interest in things they used to enjoy, have trouble feeling affectionate, be irritable, become more aggressive, or even become violent. Most suffer from flashbacks when awake or when dreaming.

Symptoms usually begin within about 3 months of the incident, but can emerge years afterward.

PTSD affects about 7.7 American adults. It is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse, or even another anxiety disorder.


Now, imagine a whole metropolitan area traumatized by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. We have noticed more aggressive personalities--aggressive drivers--rampid drug and alcohol abuse, a murder rate that would traumatize anyone, a rise in domestic abuse and abandonment.

As citizens continue to return home to deal with the what is often still a physical nightmare of rebuilding, the trauma attacks them again. This month over 3,000 blighted, abandoned homes will be torn down as a populace watches with mixed feelings.

A whole area with PTSD can be a dangerous place to live.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/AnnabelleL/Smilies/forgetKatrina.jpg

[Alpha]

I don't know what the source of this article is, however I think the content is somewhat misleading.

Most with PTSD, according to the DSM IV criteria (http://www.mental-health-today.com/ptsd/dsm.htm) for the condition, suffer from numbing and avoidance.


C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
(1) efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma
(2) efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma
(3) inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
(4) markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
(5) feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
(6) restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)
(7) sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)


Certainly having no option to stay in an area that may be subject to conditions that may occur again, would be triggers to anyone who suffers from PTSD.


That said, I cannot agree with this statement:



Now, imagine a whole metropolitan area traumatized by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. We have noticed more aggressive personalities--aggressive drivers--rampid drug and alcohol abuse, a murder rate that would traumatize anyone, a rise in domestic abuse and abandonment.




I would suspect the above would be more a result of frustration, anger and anxiety at the original incident, the personal and material loss, the lack of aid etc., than anything to do with PTSD.

[axl]

I don't know what the source of this article is, however I think the content is somewhat misleading.

Most with PTSD, according to the DSM IV criteria (http://www.mental-health-today.com/ptsd/dsm.htm) for the condition, suffer from numbing and avoidance.




Certainly having no option to stay in an area that may be subject to conditions that may occur again, would be triggers to anyone who suffers from PTSD.


That said, I cannot agree with this statement:


[/COLOR]




I would suspect the above would be more a result of frustration, anger and anxiety at the original incident, the personal and material loss, the lack of aid etc., than anything to do with PTSD.


I agree with you Alpha .

so i will say it in my own words though .

I think any one would suffer PTSD if they were rounded up and put into a make shift prison camp ( that they called a help center ) and had everything taken from them .

NO freedom
No independance bla bla .
and all that from an authorative figure you once trusted .

Its enough to make any one a bit peeed off ! and of cours there are going to be side affects after a horrendous ordeal like that .

typical trust issues for big bro brings this PTSD any time yet to me this doesnt seem like true PTSD .

I know this very well indeed .

:privateeye:

[Delphine]

Post-traumatic stress disorder 10 times higher in New Orleans than in the general public



Hurricane Katrina was the most significant natural disaster to strike the United States. Thousands of people were exposed to destruction, human violence and desperate circumstances. Post-Traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD) was likely to be a significant medical issue in the aftermath of Katrina.


In a paper to be presented at the 2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting, Professor Lisa D. Mills, MD, Director, Section of Emergency Medicine Ultrasound, Louisiana State University at New orleans, will show that PTSD was diagnosed in over 38% of the people who came to an interim Emergency Department facility in New orleans. This is more than ten times higher than the 3.6% prevalence in the general US population. Loss of a loved one and simply staying in New orleans during the storm were associated with PTSD symptoms.


Commenting on this study, Dr. Peter DeBlieux, MD, Director of Emergency Services at Louisiana State University in New orleans, states, The incidence of PTSD in our population post-Katrina reported in this research study is noteworthy and worth following as recovery efforts move forward. The prevalence cited in this study is not alarming to those professionals caring for patients who have been traumatized by the storm and challenged by the recovery efforts.
__________________________________________________ _



Symptoms of Post traumatic Stress Disorder
in a New Orleans Workforce Following Hurricane Katrina
Location: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2231633 (http://biblioteca.universia.net/irARecurso.do?page=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pubmedcentral. nih.gov%2Farticlerender.fcgi%3Fartid%3D2231633&id=33678507)


On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall resulting in catastrophic damage and flooding to New Orleans, LA, and the Gulf Coast, which may have had significant mental health effects on the population.

To determine rates and predictors of symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in New Orleans residents following Hurricane Katrina, we conducted a web-based survey 6 months after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Participants included 1,542 employees from the largest employer in New Orleans.

The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was 19.2%. Predictors of PTSD symptoms in a multivariate-adjusted regression model included female sex, non-black race, knowing someone who died in the storm, not having property insurance, having had a longer evacuation, a much longer work commute compared to before Hurricane Katrina, and currently living in a newly purchased or rented house or in a temporary trailer.

Despite universal health coverage and the benefits of an employee assistance program for all employees, only 28.5% of those with PTSD symptoms had talked to a health professional about the events of Hurricane Katrina or issues encountered since the storm.

A significant burden of PTSD symptoms was present 6 months following Hurricane Katrina among a large group of adults who had returned to work in New Orleans. Given their key role in the economic redevelopment of the region, there is a tremendous need to identify those in the workforce with symptoms consistent with PTSD and to enhance treatment options. The strong relationship between displacement from ones pre-Katrina residence and symptoms of PTSD suggests a need to focus resource utilization and interventions on individuals living in temporary housing.

[HB3]

Yeah, I think you're right on. It'd be interesting to compare w/ New Yorkers after 9/11.

[Judee]

What's this 'Universal Health coverage' those employees of the study had???

[Delphine]

What's this 'Universal Health coverage' those employees of the study had???

I'll have to do some digging, Judee. I'll see if I can find anything.