Stress and PTSD

Stress

You can be stressed at work during periods when the annual status report must be completed, when the entire warehouse is being rebuilt, or when you have to run extraordinarily fast due to many sick leave among the staff. You can also become stressed if there are upheavals in your private life, e.g. in connection with moving or current conflicts in the relationship or with the children.

Stress is not a disease, but a state of stress, which can be both psychological and physical. The state of stress occurs when external or internal demands exceed the resources the individual has – or perceives that he or she has.

What these experiences have in common is that they are short-term stress - with a clear and time-limited cause. The length of time you are in a stressful situation is decisive for whether stress is stimulating or destructive. Biologically speaking, stress has a beneficial and appropriate effect on the body approx. The first hour, but after that the beneficial effect ceases.

PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder/stress disorder)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD for short) is a relatively long-term and sometimes persistent condition. It is a stress reaction to a severe psychological strain. The condition can arise after very violent experiences, where you have felt strong terror, helplessness and intense fear – for your own life or that of others. PTSD can occur after severe catastrophic psychological stress. This can be accidents, war, disasters and abuse.

PTSD is characterized by constantly reliving (having flashbacks) the frightening event, both when awake and often also as nightmares. You try to avoid situations or the like that remind you of the incident. This is called avoidance behavior and will often contribute to intensifying the disease.

Many suffer from irritability, difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating and remembering, and mood swings. The relationship with one's closest family and friends is often affected.

Both hypnosis, mindfulness and talk therapy are valuable tools to remedy these conditions.