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(Do you understand now?-}
{2003-04-07} {11:42 p.m.}
Here's the convo between Jennifer and myself:
RdhdJllybn[Me]: http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/bgdisplay.jhtml;js essionid=KHHPZW2I1YJQECUCEQWCCZQKQISCGIM O?itemname=nonprofbackbip015
RdhdJllybn: read that ok?
sWeeT MiSEry 712[Jenn]: ok
sWeeT MiSEry 712: 20% of people commit suicide
sWeeT MiSEry 712: u better not be one of them
RdhdJllybn: hmmm me too
RdhdJllybn: read on some more about the causes of it
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i finished it
RdhdJllybn: did you click on the top where it says the causes of it?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i just read that
RdhdJllybn: okay
RdhdJllybn: now you know all about me
sWeeT MiSEry 712: :-(
RdhdJllybn: Sorryyyyyy
sWeeT MiSEry 712: sorry for what?
RdhdJllybn: for everything
RdhdJllybn: me and the way I am
sWeeT MiSEry 712: dont be sorry, i love you, you cant help the way you are
RdhdJllybn: ok
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i think it is amazing that u can deal with that and i admire u
RdhdJllybn: Dont admire me
sWeeT MiSEry 712: too bad i do
RdhdJllybn: Do you know what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: no
RdhdJllybn: here
RdhdJllybn: this is what I have too
RdhdJllybn: PTSD is an important disorder in and of itself, but psychological trauma as an entity goes across many of the disorders that you are [providing education about].
RdhdJllybn: Abuse is a very big problem in our society. Data from several years ago on the number of reports of child abuse in the United States, going back to about 1994, there were about three million reported cases of child abuse with one million of those reports being verified. In terms of the type of abuse, 47 percent was neglect, 25 percent physical abuse and 15 percent was sexual abuse.
RdhdJllybn: When you are abused early in life, when your brain is still developing, neurons are being made and pruned to make the brain become mature; what does it mean when there is an enormous amount of abuse during that critical phase of development?
RdhdJllybn: The overall presence of traumatic events in life -- this goes beyond just children -- is very high. For example, the National Comorbidity Survey showed that the lifetime incidence of experiencing traumatic event severe enough to cause post traumatic stress disorder is more than 50 percent. So, more than one out of two individuals in our country at some point experiences a very severe traumatic event. And it is about the same in males and females – in males, 60 percent, and females, 50 percent.
RdhdJllybn: So, there are underlying vulnerabilities, both in terms of how one was raised, whether the person was abused as a child or not, but there are also genetic risk factors as well. Some factors give people invulnerability, meaning that they can handle a lot of stress without developing the disorder and other genetic risk factors make one more vulnerable
RdhdJllybn: Women are much more likely to be sexually abused, for example. And that is a very severe, obviously traumatic event and the relationship between severity and the development of PTSD is strong. So, while women have about the same number of events, the events that they experience are probably more severe.
RdhdJllybn: This brings home that point. This indicates the likelihood of developing PTSD in relation to the trauma that one has experienced. So, this large bar here is whether one was held captive, tortured or kidnapped. That is, over 50 percent of individuals who undergo that experience will develop post traumatic stress disorder.
No. 2, though, is rape and that is 50 percent. So, because women are more commonly raped, that probably accounts for why women are more likely to have PTSD than men.
RdhdJllybn: What are the risk factors in terms of developing the disorder? Severity of the event, the duration of the event -- and that is what makes combat such a traumatic event, obviously. When one went to Vietnam, for example, you were there for a year. So, there was not one isolated traumatic event for most soldiers. It was not only severe, but it was a long duration
RdhdJllybn: The event has to be persistently re-experienced. What is meant by that is that flashbacks, nightmares, the memory of the event do not go away. The event continues to intrude on your regular existence.
RdhdJllybn: There is avoidance of stimuli or situations that remind one of the original event so that you begin to constrict your life. If there was sexual molestation, it will affect the relationships that you develop with partners. Many individuals develop a numbing of general responsiveness. If the event was so horrific and that made you experience a whole lot of emotion, one adaptation is to numb your emotions, to begin to distance yourself from events that arouse emotions. So, that is termed a general numbing
RdhdJllybn: The re-experiencing that I mentioned can occur as recurrent, intrusive, distressing memories, recurrent distressing dreams -- and some individuals have what we call illusions, where they look at something and they, in a sense, misinterpret their surroundings so that they think it is very similar to the original situation. Some people do have hallucinations related to the event. It is not hallucinations that occur like in schizophrenia, in which they may not be related to a specific event. These are. And they have flashbacks.
RdhdJllybn: The general numbing or avoidance relates to avoiding thoughts, feelings or conversations connected to the event, avoiding activities, places or people connected to the event and it is these types of symptoms that result in a great deal of disability. PTSD is a highly disabling condition with a great deal of morbidity and even mortality. The suicide rate is higher among patients with PTSD. [I was creying here]
RdhdJllybn: The hyperarousal that I was mentioning relates to problems sleeping, difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger. There can be increased impulsivity, problems concentrating, hypervigilance and an exaggerated startle reaction.
RdhdJllybn: These are some of the factors that lead one to develop a depression; childhood parental loss, a traumatic event. Another factor is perceived parental warmth toward the child; neglect in childhood is a major risk factor for the development of major depression. Genetic factors, lifetime history of trauma. Recent difficulties, stressful life events in the last three months. Social support
sWeeT MiSEry 712: chrissy?
RdhdJllybn: yah?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: can u promise me that u wont hurt urself?
RdhdJllybn: You're making me cry
RdhdJllybn: How can I promise something that I dont know? I mean I will try everything in my power not to
sWeeT MiSEry 712: im sorry
RdhdJllybn: there is one more paragraph
RdhdJllybn: Ordinary events can serve as reminders of the trauma and trigger flashbacks or intrusive images. A person having a flashback, which can come in the form of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, may lose touch with reality and believe that the traumatic event is happening all over again
sWeeT MiSEry 712: ur just worrying me and i love u...i couldnt deal with it if u werent here
RdhdJllybn: I cant read anymore
RdhdJllybn: gah!
sWeeT MiSEry 712: :-(
RdhdJllybn: I just wanted you to know why I am the way I am and why I get so sad so suddenly
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i understood that before, wut u dont no, or i dont think u no about me is that i cry myself to sleep every night...i dont trust many peple because i dont think that i can until i know them pretty well....im not as depressed as u but i also dont show my depression
RdhdJllybn: I understand you very well
RdhdJllybn: Alot more than I think you give me credit for
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i know you do...and the scary thing is u came into my life and overnight u were my best friend, i am so grateful that i met u
RdhdJllybn: Likewise dollface
RdhdJllybn: You are my light at the end of the tunnel
RdhdJllybn: I wrote you something today but was too afraid to email it
sWeeT MiSEry 712: email it..dont be afraid...u can show me anything
RdhdJllybn: okay brb
RdhdJllybn: sent
RdhdJllybn: will you read it?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: ok
sWeeT MiSEry 712: ya
RdhdJllybn: now?
RdhdJllybn: lol
sWeeT MiSEry 712: yes now
sWeeT MiSEry 712: u made me cry
RdhdJllybn: How did I make you cry?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: ur email
RdhdJllybn: But.....
RdhdJllybn: :-(
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i g2g
sWeeT MiSEry 712: sry
sWeeT MiSEry 712: ill email u tomorrow ok?
RdhdJllybn: promise?
sWeeT MiSEry 712: yes i do
sWeeT MiSEry 712: i love you
sWeeT MiSEry 712: good night
And, if you must know more about me you can go here: [Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders]
-Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorders, and PTSD-