Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health illness It is mainly caused by having had emotionally strong experiences that left a psychological mark and that come back through memories, causing the sufferer to have episodes of fear, panic, extreme alertness or visualize images of the trauma, to the point of believing that they are experiencing it again.
It is natural to feel anxiety or fear at times because our emotions act with the intention of protecting us from dangers. The risk is that this becomes something extreme and continuous, and that after a while we continue to feel stressed or scared.
The World Health Organization conducted a study in 21 countries and found that more than 10% of respondents reported that they had witnessed acts of violence (21,8%), had suffered interpersonal violence (18,8%), had had accidents (17,7%), witnessed war conflicts (16,2%) or had experienced traumatic events related to loved ones (12,5%).
Therefore, this study estimated that 3,6% of the world's population has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, In this article we make some recommendations to manage stress and avoid long-term effects.
1. Talk about what you feel. It is vitally important to express all those
feelings, fears and sensations that you experience so that stress has an outlet, because the situation itself makes you repress them. As soon as you feel that you can talk about the subject, do it, because when we vent, the mind and body react positively, they generate a feeling of control over your emotions and thus free you from many negative symptoms.
2. Confront what reminds you of the traumatic event. When we suffer a very strong impact, we tend to avoid everything that has to do with what happened. In this case, the recommendation is to face it little by little and relate it to something positive that is also happening in our lives. In this way, when we remember it, we will have an immediate association with something worth remembering.
3. Plan future activities and projects. These types of strong and traumatic events make us feel hopeless about the future, so we must consciously look for ways to dream about activities and projects that we will do when everything is over. If you have already overcome it, what you should do is start carrying them out and thus give more meaning to your existence.
4. Don't judge yourself. According to clinical psychologist Ursula Perona, in times of crisis our mood is difficult to manage, there is a drop in energy, there is sadness, you are more sleepy than usual and this can lead to depression. But you should not blame yourself, although some people say that you are feeling bad because you want to be, in reality it is a behavior that generates the secretion of new substances by our brain. You must accept it and try to understand it, be patient with your negative feelings and find a way to overcome them.
5. Maintain close relationships. It is very important to have people who support us and are empathetic about what we are going through. It is clear that they will never fully understand us or even understand what we are going through, but having them close and interacting with them will help us overcome the trauma better and faster.
6. Do what you like. Being afraid, anxious, sad and all the
Negative feelings of stress make us tend to isolate ourselves not only physically but also from our tastes and pleasures, which makes us feel worse. Although we are isolated during quarantine, we have different ways to do interesting things and thanks to technology we can access information, entertainment and interaction with the outside world.
7. Get plenty of rest. The same negative memory of a certain situation makes us tense, alert and scared much of the time, which can lead to sleep disorders. So we need to find ways to relax, such as drinking hot, caffeine-free drinks, taking a bath before going to bed or meditating. In this way, we can achieve restful sleep that prevents the accumulation of negative feelings.
8. Experts. If the above recommendations do not work for you, you may need professional attention from a psychologist who can help you cope with and overcome your situation. If your situation requires medical attention, we recommend that you do not take medication until you have had the supervision of an expert.
