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Chronic PTSD

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Abstract

PTSD is not just a short-term or acute response to significant trauma. For many individuals diagnosed with PTSD, the disorder becomes recurrent and/or chronic affecting the individual throughout their life. The negative effects of PTSD on the ability to function normally (a major part of the diagnostic criteria) can lead to the loss of an individual’s support system as well as the loss of access to care. An individual with PTSD is more likely than most others to have comorbid problems with chronic pain, substance abuse, and depression, problems that affect response to care and require disease-specific therapy. The United States is currently experiencing widespread epidemics of opiate overdose and suicide, negative factors that affect a large cohort of the population diagnosed with PTSD. At times of stress and/or re-traumatization, individuals diagnosed with PTSD are likely to go through periods of functional and psychiatric decompensation. A designed treatment protocol is presented emphasizing the need to protect the patient from danger to self and others, as well as the need to provide and maintain support systems during the period of decompensation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado System, School of Medicine, Arroyo Seco, NM, USA

    J. F. Pagel

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Pagel, J.F. (2021). Chronic PTSD. In: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55909-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55909-0_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-55908-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-55909-0

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