With the end of the war, the gates of another hell open for survivors of death because of the deep wounds in their souls, bodies and souls that cannot be easily disposed of. Retrieving the sounds of bombs and missiles and images of body parts scattered in the imaginations of adults and children are among the most powerful shocks, which have harsh psychological consequences, which disturb They have the details of their daily lives, and they sleep at night.
Wars breed serious mental and psychological diseases
The American Mental Health and Mental Health Journal reported that 22 percent of people living in areas of armed conflict suffer from depression, anxiety, “post-traumatic stress disorder”, “bipolar disorder” and “schizophrenia”, and that about 9 percent of the population of countries where Witnessing violent struggles, suffering from severe mental and psychological health disorders.
A study in which researchers from the Australian “Queensland” universities, “Washington” and “Harvard” Americas, funded by the World Health Organization, also concluded that depression and anxiety increase with age in countries experiencing conflict, and that these numbers are much higher than in peacetime. Almost one in 14 people suffers from some form of mental illness, or 7.14 percent.
What is post-traumatic stress disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSP) was known by many names in the past, such as “shell shock” during the years of World War I and “combat fatigue” after World War II, a type of intense fear that leads to personality disorders and affects psychological stability .
Research issued by the Royal College of Psychiatrists indicates that symptoms of psychological disorder after wars appear after weeks or within 3 months, including physiological symptoms such as muscle pain, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat, headache and appetite disorders.
The physiological symptoms coincide with other psychological symptoms that control the patient, such as panic attacks, fear, depression, anxiety and guilt, and may even reach suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
PTSD symptoms fall into four categories:
1- Feeling like the experience is happening again
The memories of the past may be so vivid that the patient relives the traumatic experience with feelings similar to what happened, such as fear, voices, and involuntary pain during the day or in nightmares.
2- Avoid certain situations and places
Remembering the accident again may cause a lot of inconvenience, so the injured tries to stay away from it by doing many activities or strenuous work while avoiding places and people associated with the accident.
3- Always feel alert
The patient feels excessively alert as if he is in constant danger, cannot relax with difficulty sleeping and anxiety. Symptoms may include agitation, emotional reaction, tantrums, and acting reckless or self-destructive.
4- Changes in cognition and mood
The inability to remember important aspects of the trauma allows negative thoughts and feelings to form distorted beliefs about the self, about the cause or consequences of those events, and leads to the wrong blaming of oneself or others.
The methods of treating post-traumatic stress disorder can be divided as follows:
Psychotherapy
All psychological therapies focus on the incident that caused the symptoms, and they help the patient understand what happened, and support the brain to deal with these painful memories, move past them, and live normally.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
The first to set the initial rules of behavioral therapy, the American doctor Joseph Wolpe during World War II, and this therapy helps the patient to think in a different way and control negative emotions. This treatment usually includes some relaxation exercises.
group therapy
This treatment relies on sessions that include meetings with a group of people who have gone through similar experiences, to make it easier for them to talk about the tragedies they have gone through.
drug therapy
Antidepressants reduce the power of mental disorder to control feelings of anxiety and tension, get rid of nightmares, and help sleep. These drugs are only given by prescription.