Traumatic Events & PTSD: Why Some Develop It & Some Don't - Research Paper

Introduction

Two people may experience the same traumatic event, but it is possible and common for only one to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from this event. Epidemiological studies indicates that being exposed to traumatic events is an issue that is common in the general population. However, the development of PTSD is considered to be relatively rare, with only 5 to 10% of the general population experiencing this disorder (Jaksic, Brajkovic, Iveziv, Topic, & Jakovljevic, 2012). While there are many factors as to why two people may have experienced an event differently, one possible explanation is aligned with trait theory. The traits which create the core of a human's personality and which make one human different from another, could explain why they experience trauma differently.

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Gordon Allport's Trait Theory

In an article from Psychestudy, Gordon Allport's trait theory is explained in the three trait categories- cardinal traits, the few traits which are majorly associated with a person that make up their core values and normally are not developed until later in life if at all, central traits, which are traits associated with a person's personality, and secondary traits, are traits which allude to a general behavior which may be revealed in a certain situation ("Trait Theory of Personality", 2017). The use of traits to identify a personality in a human allows for the comparison of one person to another (Feldman, 2018). Therefore, these trait comparisons can be used to understand better why one person develops PTSD and not the next.

There are five major personality traits, one to three of which tend to be more prevalent in any given person. Cross-cultural research has shown that these five personality factors, openness to experience, the case of conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, as well as, neuroticism (emotional stability), connect to how the brain processes information (Feldman, 2018). Resilience is a trait considered to be both neurobiological and psychological, residing with individuals who poses characteristics of flexibility, acceptance, optimism, humor, social support, etc. (Rainey, Petrey, Reynolds, Agtarap, & Warren, 2014). It is suggested that a person who posesses more strongly, this trait of resilience, is more likely to be able to better cope with a traumatic experience.

Studies show that personalities, traits, or qualities can give direction in predicting health-related outcomes of trauma. This has been shown by the theme that someone with more prominent positive traits are more likely to make better use of internal and external resources, such as Hopeful thinking and social support, when overcoming the difficulties that come with experiencing trauma (Duan, Guo, Gan, 2015).

The Biology Behind PTSD

The trait theory of personality helps in understanding an individual and their personality. It determines the traits of an individual, their behavior, emotions, and thoughts. There are various biological discussions that help to address this topic to explain how the problem arises in human beings. In an article titled Biological Studies of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, the Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is regarded as the only ailment regarding mental disorder whose cause is known. Some of the trauma events that are known to trigger this disease include the military combat and child abuse among others. It has been easier to understand the biology of the PSTD since it is different from the other mental ailments, the pathophysiological process onset and the environmental events are known. The cortisol and catecholamine abnormalities are some of the issues that have been known to affect people with this disorder. Genetic make-up is another issue that may trigger the occurrence of the disorder, and they account for 30-72% level of influence on the vulnerability to the ailment (Almli, Fani, Smith & Ressler, 2014). There are heritable personality traits that increase the likelihood of an individual getting diagnosed with the disease. One of the possible treatment measures of the ailment is having traumatic memory reconsolidation blockade.

According to Smith et al. (2014), a mental disorder treatment process requires interconnected and organized representations of events. If an individual may have experienced threat, this issue may cause interference with the active element integration thus affecting the emotions, sensation, and cognition and this may lead to trauma. When that particular person is confronted with the trauma reminders, the victim tends to replay their responses to the tragic event. There exist strong dissociative reactions like fainting that are likely to affect the ability to achieve the therapist measures adversely. Therefore, they pose a major problem towards the treatment of the ailment and instead of the patient getting the trauma-focused therapy, they only receive the skill-training (Schauer & Elbert, 2015). They may be trained on the way to identify and undertake measures that will prevent the triggers that lead to the issue of detachment. However, it can be noted that these measures are not adequate methods to treat mental disorder. The posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) concept fails to distinguish whether the traumatic experiences and reminders lead to fight-flight alarm response.

The PTSD is regarded as a chronic ailment that lead to the loss of some of the body functionality, and it can be accompanied by a high risk of suicide and psychiatric co-morbidity. According to the authors in this article, there are various issues that can arise from the occurrence of the mental disorder that includes the risk of substance abuse. It can be noted that the phenethylamine 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can be given to the patients in a clinical setting, but this may lead the patient into becoming dependent on the drug (Mithoefer et al., 2013). This calls for the need of the physician following up on their patients after they administer the treatment to avoid a situation where they are becoming dependent on the treatment procedure (Jonathan & Stein, 2012). PTSD is associated with high cases of the co-morbid abuse of substances, and the emotional stress that arise from the disorder may trigger the use of intoxicants for self-medication and as an escape. Another effect that arises from the PTSD is the risk of neurocognitive decline as it can be noted that one of the procedures that are used in managing the PTSD is the administration of MDMA an issue that can lead to the neurocognitive decline.

There is a relationship between the PTSD and the traumatic brain injury, and when the injury is severe, there is the possibility of an individual experiencing cases of attention impairment, and this can have a serious repercussion on the body functionality. The mild forms of the brain injury often lead to cases like PTSD with the likely effects being depression and the inability to understand what is happening and inability to have coordinate activities in the body. It can be noted that in the life of a patient suffering from PTSD, the cortisol secretion diverse patterns can be reported especially when they are not undertaken through some form of treatment (Pitman et al., 2012). The state of anxiety tends to develop when an individual is exposed to traumatic life events, and this may trigger other issues, such as the eating disorder. PTSD is a mental disorder, and its effects lead to other forms of disorder, and it is possible to find that the patient is unable to feed in the right manner and their body system may collapse especially when the various organs are deprived the necessary nutrients to continue developing (Vasterling, Brailey, Proctor, Kane, Heeren & Franz, 2012). The various muscles in the body need food nutrients to function optimally, and with the eating disorder, there is the possibility of Musculoskeletal conditions arising making the patient unable to coordinate the various body parts.

Another effect of the PTSD is the possibility of a woman experiencing a shortened gestation period and low birth weight. The women who post low socio-demographic status in most of the cases tend to encounter cases of PTSD mental disorder when they are pregnant, and this is a factor that can lead to children born with low weight levels or stillbirths. If the women underwent childhood abuse, there is the likelihood that they will experience mental disorder (Seng, Low, Sperlich, Ronis & Liberzon, 2011). This can be explained by the fact that mistreatment could lead to the women having the dysregulation in the oxytocin system and this would adversely affect the stress-response function. The fetal growth is then affected when the oxytocin's tends to interact with the growth hormones (Violanti, Andrew, Burchfiel, Hartley, Charles & Miller, 2007). The gestation duration is adversely affected by the dysregulation of PTSD-associated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Behavioral Effects of PTSD

The PTSD tends to have various behavioral effects on the lives of the victims or people undergoing the problem. People tend to portray alteration in arousal, the avoidance symptoms, cognition and mood changes that tend to last for a period of 30 days. The behavioral effects that tend to be displayed by the mental disorder patients include anxiety disorder, substance abuse and depression and possible disability issues. Patients may also depict cases of problems with their heart functions since coronary heart disease can be caused by the disorder. Another behavior that can be depicted among person suffering from this disorder is being withdrawn from the others for they cannot manage to hold a meaningful conversation and in some cases, they may fail to comprehend what they are saying. As a result, they usually keep away from others and engage in activities that do not seem normal for an adult (Schoner, Heinz, Endres, Gertz, & Kronenberg, 2017). Social isolation in addition to the early life stresses lead to the victims leading a boring life and this may lead to having the suicidal thoughts and in some cases they may physically harm those who are close to them.

Hoskins et al. (2015), states that the prevalence of the PTSD is at around 15.4% and some of the symptoms that are associated with this ailment include avoidance, re-experiencing and hyper-arousal. It is also associated with depression, substance misuse, anxiety, and a significant burden economically. The treatment process that has been realized for the ailment has been inconsistent, and the effects that arise from the pharmacological treatments of the PTSD ailments tend to be low and inferior when comparisons are made against the psychological treatments. According to the information provided by the World Health Organization, the antidepressant is a good tool that can be used in offering treatment for the PTSD and this mostly should happen when the psychological procedures and interventions fail to work. The pharmacological measures and intervention procedures are not highly recommended as the best strategies to use in managing the PTSD treatment processes (Hoskins et al., 2015). When making the prescription for the antidepressants, it is crucial that various considerations are made which should include the psychological treatments, concurrent depression, and the inability to respond to the treatment processes among others. This shows that the treatment of the disorder is not easy despite the fact that it is one of the mental disorders with known causes and treatment procedures.

PTSD is a mental problem and understanding the various issues that arise from the occurrence of this ailment is one of the best ways of seeking for the treatment process (Weems et al., 2010). Various...