How Does it Feel to Have PTSD?

In our second Unit of our STEAM course, Disease, we learned about mental disorders. This Unit was about the mind. We learned about different kinds of mental disorders, learning disabilities, and mental illness. We also learned about different brain waves and when they manifest. We used this information to learn how to plot these waves on a graph and solve a piecewise function. Another thing we learned about was the DSM-5 This is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. This is a manual of many mental disorders that have criteria used to diagnose people. We had a 2nd-year medical student come in and talk to us about diagnosing and talking to patients. I really liked this experience and got to show off my medical knowledge. For this project, we had to pick a mental disorder. I chose Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. We then had to create a lesson and simulation to try to get our peers to feel the effects of the disorder. We also had to graph the brain waves that we thought our lesson would provoke. We then graphed these as a piecewise function. We filmed the lesson so we could document the experience. I thought this action project was fun. I thought it was different than the usual slideshow or essay. We also got to see everyone else do their simulation.

CM. Flyer. (2018)

My definition of PTSD would be: PTSD is a disorder in which a person has triggering flashbacks, memories, dreams, or hallucinations about a traumatic event in their past. According to the Veterans Association: "PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault."

PTSD can be very difficult to live with. I wanted to find out what it was like to take care of someone with PTSD. I found an interview with a woman named Rebecca McCoy. Her husband Craig was diagnosed with PTSD. She states, “I basically guide him through each day, do things that he cannot do for himself or help him complete the tasks he cannot finish on his own. I am his primary emotional support, the person who he can talk to openly. I also help him realize and remember that he is worth the fight PTSD brings." This quote shows how hard it is for people who take care of someone with PTSD is. Rebecca and Craig's relationship is much different now that he has been diagnosed with PTSD.

According to the DSM-5 here are 3 criteria for diagnosing PTSD:

Criterion A: stressor

The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, as follows: (one required)

1. Direct exposure.
2. Witnessing the trauma, in person.
3. Indirectly, by learning that a close relative or close friend was exposed to trauma.

Indirect exposure to aversive details of the event(s), usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, collecting body parts; professionals repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse).

Criterion B: intrusion symptoms

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in the following way(s): (one required)

1. Intrusive thoughts: Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories. Note: Children older than six may express this symptom in repetitive play.
2. Nightmares. Note: Children may have frightening dreams without content related to the trauma(s).
3. Dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) which may occur on a continuum from brief episodes to complete loss of consciousness. Note: Children may reenact the event in play
4. Intense or prolonged distress after exposure to traumatic reminders.
5. Marked physiologic reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli.

Criterion C: avoidance

Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma, in the following way(s): (one required)

1. Trauma-related thoughts or feelings.
2. Trauma-related external reminders (e.g., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations).

Different parts of the brain are affected by PTSD. The parts of the brain that are most affected are the stress response centers like the Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Prefrontal Cortex. These are the areas of the brain that have Norepinephrine and Cortisol systems. These systems are known to have a dysregulated function after years of stress, according to US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

Below is my lesson plan for my simulation. You can follow this so you can also host your own simulation.

For my simulation, I decided to turn PTSD into something good. I didn't want to actually scare anyone or do something that might be traumatic. I decided to ask them about the happiest day of their lives. I asked them to think about all the sensory details they could think of from that day like, what was the weather like, what were the smells, what food did you eat, etc. I had people relax and think about this for a couple minutes. I then told them this is what PTSD could feel like. I then told them about PTSD and why this simulation relates to the disorder. I told them: "What if this day that you were thinking about was the worst day of your life?" I told them that PTSD is like repeating the worst day of your life over and over again. I then had them reflect on the experience and what it would be like to actually have PTSD.

Here is the graph of the expected brain waves of my peers throughout the activity.

CM 'Piecewise Function" (2018)

For the graph, I put the 5 brain waves on the graph. These are Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma. These are the 5 brain waves that manifest at different times. Delta usually happens in deep sleep. Theta happens in light sleep or hypnosis. Alpha happens in meditation and relaxation. Beta happens in regular consciousness, thinking, and observing. Gamma happens in conversation, learning and problem-solving. I plotted each brainwave at each minute of the presentation. I then separated each piece into sections. I ended up having 7 sections. I then wrote their range. For each of pieces, I calculated the slope from their 2 points using y2-y1 over x2-x1. I then calculated the equation of that line and solved until I got what y equaled. I then put that into the f(x).

I think that if I had PTSD, daily life could be very hard. I think how difficult would depend on what kind of trauma I had gone through and what kind of triggers I would see in my day-to-day life. I could have a very severe case of PTSD or a rather mild one. I think my life would be different because I would be more anxious than I usually am. I would probably be looking for triggers and seeing how I could get out of situations that might trigger me. I would probably think about the trauma, definitely more than I would like to. I would have to make sure I had time to work my schedule so I could go to therapy to help deal with my symptoms. I might also have to pick up medication like anti-depressants to also help manage my symptoms. I might have night terrors or nightmares about the event that would make me emotional. I would have flashbacks and remember the incident. I would even sometimes be depressed and lose interest in activities and struggle with day-to-day life. I even might be struggling with survivors guilt depending on what kind of trauma I went through in the past. I think my life would be very different if I were having to deal with PTSD. I hope that I will never have to go through it, and if I do, I know the support I need to help get me through this difficult time.

In conclusion, I really liked this project. It was different than the usual projects we do and that was fun. There were a lot of different pieces to the project which did make it hard to keep track of. The part I struggled the most on with this project was coming up with how I was going to simulate PTSD. I talked with my teacher and he helped me with the idea. In the end, I enjoyed this project and have really enjoyed this class. I look forward to the next action project.

Works Cited:

"An Interview About Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Rebecca McCoy." (2014) Women's Health.gov. U.S. Department of Human Services. Web. 14, March 2018. https://www.womenshealth.gov/blog/spotlight-rebecca-mccoy

Bremner J. Douglas M.D. "Traumatic stress: effects on the brain." National Center for Biotechnology Information. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Web. 14, March 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association. Washington D.C. (2013) 14, March 2018. 

"DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD" (2018) Brainline.org. Bob Woodruff Foundation. Web. 14, March 2018 https://www.brainline.org/article/dsm-5-criteria-ptsd

"PTSD Statistics." (2013) PTSD United.org. Web. 14, March 2018. http://www.ptsdunited.org/ptsd-statistics-2/

"Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder."(2018) PTSD Alliance.org. PTSD Alliance. Web. 14, March 2018. http://www.ptsdalliance.org/treatment/

"What is PTSD?"(2018)PTSD Alliance.org. PTSD Alliance. Web. 14, March 2018 http://www.ptsdalliance.org/about-ptsd/