Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) refers to a significant mental disorder most commonly associated with psychosocial impairment, disability, and morbidity. These symptom manifests fairly quickly after an individual is exposed to trauma. Within a primary care setting, the diagnosis of PTSD can be elusive because patients usually present with depression or somatic complaints. Moreover, they exhibit a general reluctance to talk about their traumatic experiences. In the aftermath of the Iraqi War and the struggle in Afghanistan, high rates of PTSD have been noted, which has propelled the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Hospitals to confront this challenge. It is necessary and critical to screen all veterans for PTSD symptoms and make referrals if fitting in order to prevent full-fledged onset of the psychiatric disorder. Indeed, PTSD is a unique psychiatric disorder that has a predominately environmental etiology and thus can potentially be prevented, as it does not have a significant genetic component. The disorder carries with it several vulnerability factors, including: duration of exposure to trauma, such as military combat; number of traumatic events an individual experiences throughout his or her lifetime; a family history of mental illness or psychiatric disorders; and gender, as females often experience higher rates of PTSD than their male counterparts. PTSD is a common medical condition that causes high healthcare costs and immense suffering in those who have it. As such, it is surprising that medical experts often miss diagnosing the conditions, particularly within primary care settings. This phenomenon can be explained because health care providers often focus on the presenting problem rather than looking for, diagnosing, and treating underlying PTSD. Survivors of trauma are often not cognizant of the fact that PTSD symptoms develop according to a disease process, so they may have suffered from PTSD for years without knowing that they have a psychiatric disorder. It is thus imperative that all healthcare professionals not just in mental health but also in other settings inquire about a patient’s trauma history in addition to screening questions regarding PTSD during evaluation.
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References
U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. (2015). PTSD: National Center for PTSD. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/ Retrieved September 8, 2015 from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
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