Q: A few weeks ago, while trying to avoid a deer, I swerved wildly and just missed a head-on collision with another car. I ended up in a ditch, unhurt but shaken. Since then I can’t sleep more than a few hours at a time. I get flashbacks and break into sweats. Sometimes during the day, just walking to the soda machine at work, I have to stop to catch my breath. What’s happening? — Andrew F., Darien, Conn. A: You don’t have to be a wounded Iraqi warrior to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and that sounds like what you are describing. Anyone who has experienced a traumatic event involving the threat of injury or death is a candidate. PTSD is called a disorder because it changes — disorders — how certain hormones and brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters, carry information and respond to stress. Not everyone who has a similar experience will react the same way; whether you develop PTSD depends on your genetic predispositions, your social situation (isolation makes it harder to process the event) and your physical health going into the trauma.
This is a physical condition, so don’t be ashamed and don’t try to shrug off the feelings. We urge you to see a specialist SEmD the sooner you get properly diagnosed, the sooner you can begin treatment and regain control of your life and your relationships with those around you. The good news is that therapy, which may mean medications, cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling therapy (specific to your experience), or a combination of all three, really does work. You won’t feel better overnight, but you will learn how to cope with the memory of what happened and take back control of your life.
