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ABSTRACT: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling and prevalent psychiatric disorder. Researchers and scientists have developed a neurobiological basis, which provides a framework for understanding the complexities of PTSD, for many symptoms of the disorder. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among adult Americans is 7.8%, with women twice as likely as men to have PTSD. Onset of symptoms can occur years after exposure to trauma, and the duration of the illness can last a lifetime. Patients with PTSD often encounter multiple psychosocial problems that result from the symptoms they experience, and their distorted perceptions can affect relationships within the family and the workplace. Nurses in various roles (e.g., educator, therapist, prescriber, case manager, staff nurse) may encounter individuals with PTSD. The nursing profession has traditionally sought to explain sophisticated language to patients in understandable tenus, and nurses serve in encouraging, supporting, and evaluating roles, all of which will be increasingly important as science and technology discover more information about the neurobiological basis for mental illnesses.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling and prevalent psychiatric disorder. The neurological basis researchers and scientists have developed for many symptoms of the disorder provides a framework for understanding the complexities of PTSD. This framework can help psychiatric nurses relate to their clients' experiences, enhance the therapeutic relationship, and develop more effective treatment interventions.
SYMPTOMS
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (2000) criteria for PTSD require that a person experience, witness, or confront an event that is either severely injurious or threatening and that the subsequent symptoms be present for at least 1 month. The three symptom clusters are:
* Intrusive.
* Avoidant/ numbing.
* Arousal.
Intrusive symptoms include persistent disturbing memories or dreams, flashbacks, and intense psychological or physiological distress. Avoidant/numbing symp toms include avoidance of thoughts, feelings, people, places, and activities that may trigger symptoms; feelings of detachment; and amnesia. Arousal symptoms include irritability, angry outbursts, hypervigilance, increased startle response, and problems in concentration or sleep (APA, 2000; Korn, 2002).
PREVALENCE AND COMORBIDITY
The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among adult Americans is 7.8%, with women twice as likely as men to have PTSD (Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995). Onset of symptoms...