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What is PTSD? Symptoms, causes and how you can get help for it

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is something someone may develop if they have experienced something they find traumatic.

Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD, but those who have experienced very stressful, frightening or distressing events may develop it.

Many may have heard the term in relation to war veterans, where it was first described as "shell shock".

However, it's not only diagnosed in soldiers, and a wide range of traumatic experiences can cause PTSD.

The good thing is that with effective treatment the symptoms of PTSD can be reduced.

Here we go into further detail about what PTSD is, what the symptoms are, and how we can get help for it.

What is PTSD?

According to mental health charity Mind, PTSD is a "mental health problem you may develop after experiencing traumatic events".

The NHS also describes it as an "anxiety disorder" which is caused by "very stressful, frightening or distressing events".

© Getty Images Person in therapy

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

According tot he NHS, someone who suffers from PTSD may relive the traumatic event through "nightmares and flashbacks".

As a result, they may experience feelings such as "isolation, irritability and guilt".

This could lead to problems sleeping, such as insomnia, or finding it hard to concentrate.

In addition, Mind states that someone may experience intrusive thoughts or images and physical sensations such as "pain, sweating, nausea or trembling".

What a person experiences as traumatic can vary from person to person.

Not everyone will develop PTSD from the following situations, but they could.

Some examples listed by Mind are:

• being involved in a car crash
• being raped or sexually assaulted
• being abused, harassed or bullied, including racism, sexism and other types of abuse targeting your identity
• being kidnapped, held hostage or any event in which you fear for your life
• experiencing violence, including military combat, a terrorist attack, or any violent assault
• seeing other people hurt or killed, including in the course of your job, sometimes called secondary trauma
• doing a job where you repeatedly see or hear distressing things, such as the emergency services or armed forces
• surviving a natural disaster, such as flooding, earthquakes or pandemics, such as the coronavirus pandemic
• traumatic childbirth as a mother or partner witnessing a traumatic birth
• losing someone close to you in particularly upsetting circumstances
• being sectioned or getting treatment in a mental health ward
• being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition

How can PTSD be treated?

According to the NHS, PTSD can be successfully treated, even if it develops years after a traumatic event.

However, treatment depends on the severity of symptoms, and how soon they occur after the event.

There are various treatment forms available, including psychological therapies.

Your GP can refer you to these therapies, which can include trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).

Other alternatives includes antidepressants.

Another thing you could do is try ou the My Possible Self App, which, which is a free NHS endorsed global mental health app which provides holistic and engaging tools to the support and improve the mental wellbeing of all.

Debra Longsdale, Therapy Services Director at the Priory Group, speaking on behalf of leading free global mental health app My Possible Self explains: “Seeking help if you think you might have PTSD is really important, and the My Possible Self app has a variety of useful tools to help those that think they may have symptoms.

"I personally would recommend the guided ‘Overcoming my anxiety’ series as an avenue to helping you understand your symptoms, and to then manage them using the tools available. In addition, the ‘Drinking safely’ series can help you understand your alcohol habits with tools designed to set goals and identify risky situations and places..”

To find out more about the My Possible Self App visit www.mypossibleself.com. 

The Serpent And The Rainbow- The Frontier of Death - 3

The Serpent And The Rainbow- The Frontier of Death - 3The Serpent And The Rainbow- The Frontier of Death - 3In 1980 eighteen years later, a man walked into the L'Estere marketplace and approached Angelina  Narcisse. He introduced himself by a boyhood nickname of the deceased brother, a name that only intimate family members knew snd had not been used since the siblings were children. The man claimed to be Clairvius and stated that he had been made zombie by his brother because of a land dispute.In Haiti, the offical Napoleonic code states that land must be divided to the male offspring. According to Narcisse, he had refused to sell off his part of the inheritance, and his brother had, in a fit of anger, contracted out his zombification.

Immediately following his resurrection from the grave he was beaten and bound, then led away by a team of men to the north of the country where, for two years, he worked as a slave with other zombis. Eventually the zombi master was killed and the zombis, free from whatever force kept them bound to him, dispersed.Narcisse spent the next sixteen years wandering about the country, fearful of the vengeful brother. It was only after hearing of his brother's death that he dared return to his village.

The Narcisse case generated considerable publicity within Haiti and drew the attention of the BBC, which arrived in 1981 to film  short documentary based on his story, Doyon, meanwhile, had considered various ways to test the truth of Narcisse's claim. To exhume the grave would have proved little. If the man was an impostor, he or his conspirators could well have removed the bones. On the other hand, had Narcisse actually been taken from the grave as a zombi, those responsible might have substituted another body, by then impossible to identify. Instead, working directly with family members, Douyou designed a series of detailed questions concerning Narcisse's childhood-questions that not even a close boyhood friend could have answered -These the man claiming to be Narcisse correctly.

And over two hundred residents of l'Estere were cerain that Narcisse had returned to the living. By the time the BBc took a copy of the death certificate to Scotland Yard, and their specialists verified that the fingerprint belonged to the sister, Marie Claire. It was several moments before I could accept the seriousness of their conclusion. I stood up and moved, escaping the white whorls of cigarette smoke, anxious to shake loose a dozen thoughts and questions."How do you know this isn't an elaborate fraud?"

Perpetrated by whom and for what end?" Kline replied. "In Haiti a zombi is a complete outcast. Would a leper stand upon Hyde Park Corner and boast his disease?""So you are saying this Narcisse was buried alive .""Yes, unless you believe in magic.""What about oxygen in the coffin?""His survival would would have depended on his level of metabolic activity. There is a medically documented case of an Indian fakir consciously reducing his oxygen consumption and surviving ten hours in an airtight box hardly larger than a coffin?""It is worth pointing out," interjected Leham, " that damage due to oxygen depravation would be progressive."

"In what sense?""If certain brain cells are without oxygen for even a few seconds they die and can never recover function, for as I probably don't have to tell you, there is no regeneration of brain tissue. The more pimitive parts of the brain, those that control vital functions, can endure greater abuse. Under certain circumstances the individual may lose personality, or that part of the brain that deals with thought and voluntary movement, and yet survive as a vegetable because the vital centres are intact."

"Precisely the Haitian definition of a zombi,2 noted Kline. " A body without character, without will." Still incredulous, I turned to Kline."Precisely the Haitian definition of a zombi,2 noted Kline. " A body without character, without will." Still incredulous, I turned to Kline."Are you suggesting that brain damage creates a zombie/""Not at all, at least not directly, after all, Narcisse was pronounced dead. There must be a material explanation, and we think it is a drug." 

Finally I knew what they wanted from me.Finally I knew what they wanted from me."I first came across rumors of a zombi poison some thirty years ago," said Kline. " During my first years in Haiti I tried unsuccessfully to obtain a sample. I did meet an old vodoo priest who assured me that the poision was sprinkled across the threshold of the intended victim's doorway and absorbed through the skin of the feet. He claimed that at the resurrection ceremony the victim was administered a second drug as an antidote. Now both the BBC and Douyon have sent us very similar reports.

"Douyon brought us a sample of areputed zombi poison some months ago," said Lehman,. "we tested it on rats but it proved to be completly inert. However, a brown powder given to us recentlyu by one of the correspondents of the BBC may be of greater interest. We prepared an emulsion and applied it to the abdomen of rhesus monkeys; it caused a pronounced reaction in activity. We have absolutely no idea what the powder was made from.""Douyon brought us a sample of areputed zombi poison some months ago," said Lehman,. "we tested it on rats but it proved to be completly inert. However, a brown powder given to us recentlyu by one of the correspondents of the BBC may be of greater interest. We prepared an emulsion and applied it to the abdomen of rhesus monkeys; it caused a pronounced reaction in activity. We have absolutely no idea what the powder was made from."

Lehman's grave dark face had changed; it was luminous, trembling. I found his excitment contagious. Yes. it was completely conceivable that a rug might exist which, if adminintered in proper doses, would lower the metabolic state of the victim to such a level that he would be considered dead. In fact, however, the victim would remain alive, and an antidote properly administered  could then restore him at the appropriate time. The medical potential of such a drug could be enormous... as Kline obviously appreciated.Lehman's grave dark face had changed; it was luminous, trembling. I found his excitment contagious. Yes. it was completely conceivable that a rug might exist which, if adminintered in proper doses, would lower the metabolic state of the victim to such a level that he would be considered dead. In fact, however, the victim would remain alive, and an antidote properly administered  could then restore him at the appropriate time. The medical potential of such a drug could be enormous... as Kline obviously appreciated.

" Take surgery. " he said. " Someone is about to have an operation. What do they want to be sure of/" Before I could reply, he said," Their surgeon? They want to know that the surgeon is qualified, but the truth is that most surgery is absolutely routine. The real liability, the hidden danger that kilss hundreds of patients every year, no one ever thinks about."" Take surgery. " he said. " Someone is about to have an operation. What do they want to be sure of/" Before I could reply, he said," Their surgeon? They want to know that the surgeon is qualified, but the truth is that most surgery is absolutely routine. The real liability, the hidden danger that kilss hundreds of patients every year, no one ever thinks about."Lehman was restless, anxious to finish Kline's thought. but Kline went on. " Anesthesia. Every time someone goes under, it is an experiment in applied pharmacology.

Reference: The Serpent And The Rainbow: Wade Davis

‘This illness alone is a pandemic’: Sickle cell patients hit by distressing delay in treatment during Covid-19

“I’ll be really honest with you: I’m having a crisis right now and have been on morphine today to manage the pain.”

Chanel Taylor was enduring prolonged agony during a sickle cell crisis, while explaining how the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a significant reduction in blood transfusion supplies. 

The 36-year-old, who was diagnosed with the blood disorder aged just nine months old, is one of many patients whose treatment has been pushed back on more than one occasion since the virus outbreak last year. She usually has transfusions every five weeks, receiving seven units of ethnically-matched blood each time.

The delay severely impacted her quality of life and the overall reduction in transfusion supplies across the UK is dramatically impacting the welfare of many others who live with sickle cell disease — an illness that mainly affects people of African and Caribbean descent.

“I was due to have my exchange on August 2, however I got a message to say that my treatment had been cancelled due to staff shortages brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak,” Ms Taylor, a marketing co-ordinator and NHS donor care administrator, said.

The anxiety and distress took her back to 2020, when the pandemic began and a critical blood transfusion was delayed for almost one month.

“Usually, leading up to two weeks before my transfusions, I usually preserve my energy and try to do less and prioritise my time -whether it’s work, not taking too much on, doing the school run. So I was feeling fatigued, tired at the time,” the mother-of-one explained.

© Supplied: Chanel Taylor, 36, and her 11-year-old daughter: 

“When I was told about the delay, I was disorientated and stress is also a trigger for sickle cell; it heightens my crisis pain and anxiety. The thought of not having my exchange really scared me.

“I wasn’t able to stand up and cook, parent my daughter in the way I usually do, we had a lot of takeaways - so the month of August my Uber and Deliveroo bills were a lot. The lack of exchange in itself can cause crises; I’ve experienced swollen joints, vascular necrosis and deep vein thrombosis.”

Following the recent postponement of her transfusion, Ms Taylor, who has lost vision in her left eye as a result of her condition, had to wait three weeks for a reallocated slot and, during that time, kept having to call to see if they had any were available.

“I remember thinking ‘how many more patients are going through this across London?’,” she said.

As the founder of Unsickle My Cells, a campaign group that aims to promote awareness, she was able to discover that other patients have been experiencing similar delays.

“There’s a lot of experiences with sickle cell patients not being able to receive treatments because of the pandemic but we also believe that it’s also to do with the fact that this is one of fastest-growing genetic diseases in the UK that has little resources, so we’re always having to be vocal, fight for support and be treated relatively well,” she added.

“The pandemic caused so much problems for sickle cell patients because treatments had to be moved back because of it.

“At the same time, this illness alone is a pandemic and it has been for many years — so why isn’t attention being placed on that? When it came to cancelling of appointments and treatment, you’ve heard the stories like Nathan Evan Smith, patients being called drug seekers and liars in A&E, yet the attention towards sickle cell just isn’t there. We’re in 2021 and we’re still fighting for that.”

© Provided by The Independent Chanel and her 11-year-old daughter (Supplied)

Despite guidance from NHS Blood and Transplant, many trusts are not prioritising patients with inherited blood disorders including sickle cell disease. The Independent also heard from Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of life-changing treatments that provide hope to underserved patient communities.

Nigel Nicholls, its chief executive, said: “There has been a lack of attention placed on sickle cell disease and this has resulted in a huge, 24.7% drop in donations to blood banks which is a lifeline to some sickle cell patients.

“This is despite the national blood transfusion service alerting NHS to this issue. Even though Black voices have been raised and many groups have been talking about this over the years, this is where we are.

“I think it’s symptomatic of the lack of innovation and standards of care that has been at play in the treatment of Sickle Cell over time; Covid has exposed the inequality that exists in this field as it has with a lot of other things.”

Pointing to race-based discrimination as a factor that underpins the disregard with which this illness is treated, Mr Nicholls is calling for more “cohesive and comprehensive engagement” with policy-makers and media in order to raise awareness it to the level where it needs to be.

There are currently 12,633 Black and mixed Black blood donors which makes up just 1.5 percent of the total donor base. Some 16,000 new donors from the Black and mixed Black communities are needed to meet demands

What’s more, the current blood shortage has heavily impacted the sickle cell patients who require regular blood transfusions to manage symptoms of the disease, without which they face a heightened risk of severe and life-threatening complications, including stroke or multiple organ failure.

“Sickle cell patients also face discrimination because it’s an invisible disability and because we don’t look like we need care,” Ms Taylor reflected.

“We have to pay for medication; it’s an 24-hour, 365-day challenge. We have no warning, no timeline as to when we’ll have these complications. So it’s really difficult to try and educate people especially when we have to advocate for ourselves.”

Beverley De-Gale, co-founder of African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) told The Independent: “As the coronavirus pandemic focuses medical attention on treating affected patients and protecting others from infection, many people with non-Covid related illnesses are not receiving the very basic standards of care and treatment.

“Layered with the fact that there is already a silent crisis out there surrounding the number of Black people who are regular blood donors, it’s of great importance that the blood which is being donated by Black people in the UK (less than 1 per cent) reaches the very patients who require the well-matched blood, to maintain and save their lives.” 

Reference: Independent: Nadine White  

SIX out of every 1 million develop heart inflammation after a 2nd dose

Americans are much more likely to develop rare heart inflammation after the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine compared to the first dose, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) found that less than one out of every one million people who receive the first dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine will develop the condition within the next ten days.

Comparatively, six out of every million will develop heart inflammation within ten days of the second dose.    

But unvaccinated people are still at a much higher risk.

The team found that 47.5 out of every one million people who had not had their shots and underwent health screenings had the condition.

The findings suggest that myocarditis is a rare side effect of the vaccine, and people should feel safe in receiving the jabs.

Myocarditis, the medical name for heart inflammation, is a known side effect of viral infections like Covid. 

The condition has also been discovered as a potential side effect of the vaccines, with younger males being at an especially high risk but at a much lower rate than if they had contracted the virus.

For the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, the KPSC team gathered data from more than 2.3 million patients in its Southern California health care system.

Researchers investigated medical records of participants to find who had received medical care for myocarditis in the ten days following the jab. 

Two participants were found to have developed myocarditis after receiving the first shot, or 0.8 out of every one million people.

© Provided by Daily Mail

By comparison, more that 2.2 million participants returned for screening after the second shot, with 13 - or 5.8 out of every million - having the condition.

This means that people are seven times more likely to develop the condition after the second dose rather than the first.  

Those that developed the condition were evenly split between participants who received the Pfizer and Moderna shots.

For a control group, researchers also gathered data from 1.5 million unvaccinated people over the course of the study period.

Around 47.5 out of every one million unvaccinated people were found to have developed the condition.

While those in the control group were not specifically selected because they had previously contracted the virus, it is likely that Covid did cause the condition in unvaccinated people.

This means unvaccinated people are eight times as likely to develop myocarditis than people are after receiving the shots.

Every participant who was found to develop heart inflammation after receiving the vaccine in the study was a male.

This is a known trend, with the Centers for Disease Control and Convention (CDC) warning that younger males are particularly vulnerable to myocarditis after receiving the vaccine. 

A Gallup poll from the end of July found that fear of side effects - of which the most common serious side effect is myocarditis - is the most cited reason for vaccine hesitancy.  

This KPSC study finds that people who do receive the jabs are much more likely to experience these negative side effects than those who do not get the shots.

Data from the CDC confirms this as well, with the agency reporting that nearly 1,500 out of every million people who are hospitalized with Covid develop heart inflammation. 

Heart inflammation can often lead to fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain for patients.

People with inflamed hearts are at a higher risk for heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.

Attempting strenuous physical activity with an inflamed heart could also potentially lead to sudden cardiac arrest, or even death. 

Reference: Mansur Shaheen For Dailymail.Com