{"id":11669,"date":"2019-02-22T10:06:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T10:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/?p=11669"},"modified":"2019-02-22T10:06:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T10:06:35","slug":"ptsd-affects-one-in-13-by-the-age-of-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/ptsd-affects-one-in-13-by-the-age-of-18\/","title":{"rendered":"PTSD affects &#8216;one in 13 by the age of 18&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One in 13 young people in England and Wales experiences post-traumatic stress disorder by the age of 18.<\/p>\n<p>A study of more than 2,000 18-year-olds found nearly a third had experienced trauma in childhood. A quarter of these then developed PTSD which can\u00a0 cause insomnia, flashbacks and feelings of isolation. Researchers say many young people not getting the help they need and\u00a0 this study should be a &#8216;wake-up call&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The study found that just over half of those who had PTSD had also experienced a major depressive episode and one in five attempted suicide. Only one in five had been seen by mental health professionals in the past year.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-11670 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"762\" height=\"508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878.jpg 3900w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/shutterstock_1201403878-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lead researcher Dr Stephanie Lewis<\/strong>, from the Medical Research Council, said: &#8220;Providing effective treatments early on could prevent mental health problems continuing into adulthood.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Participants in the study were judged to have had PTSD only if they had the following symptoms for at least a month:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">irritability, impulsivity or difficulty concentrating<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">reliving traumatic events through distressing memories or nightmares<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">avoiding anything reminding them of their trauma<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">feelings of guilt, isolation or detachment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Experiences of childhood trauma included assault, injury or an event that had affected\u00a0someone they knew but they had not directly witnessed.<\/p>\n<p>Senior researcher <strong>Prof Andrea Danese<\/strong>, from the King&#8217;s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, said: &#8220;Our findings should serve as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Childhood trauma is a public-health concern &#8211; yet trauma-related disorders often go unnoticed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Young people with PTSD are falling through the gaps in care and there is a pressing need for better access to mental health services.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is PTSD?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing event. Someone with PTSD often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. They may also have problems sleeping such as insomnia and find concentrating difficult. These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person&#8217;s day to day life.<\/p>\n<p>Any situation that a person finds traumatic can cause PTSD.<\/p>\n<p>These can include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>serious road accidents<\/li>\n<li>violent personal assaults, such as sexual assault, mugging or robbery<\/li>\n<li>a traumatic birth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>PTSD\u00a0can develop immediately\u00a0after someone experiences a\u00a0disturbing event or it\u00a0can occur weeks, months or even years later.<\/p>\n<p>Re-experiencing is the most typical symptom of PTSD, it is when someone relives the traumatic event\u00a0in the form of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>flashbacks<\/li>\n<li>nightmares<\/li>\n<li>repetitive and distressing images or sensations<\/li>\n<li>physical sensations, such as pain, sweating, feeling sick or trembling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some people will have constant negative thoughts about their experience, repeatedly asking themselves questions that prevent them coming to terms with the events.<\/p>\n<p>Avoidance and emotional numbing is another symptom, many will try to avoid being reminded of the traumatic event. This means avoiding certain people or places that\u00a0remind them of the trauma, or avoiding talking to anyone about their experience. Some people attempt to deal with their feelings by trying not to feel anything at all. This is known as emotional numbing.<\/p>\n<p>Someone with\u00a0PTSD may be very\u00a0anxious and find it difficult to relax. They\u00a0may be constantly aware\u00a0of threats and easily startled; this is known as hyperarousal. Hyperarousal often leads to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>irritability<\/li>\n<li>angry outbursts<\/li>\n<li>sleeping problems\u00a0(insomnia)<\/li>\n<li>difficulty concentrating<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many people with PTSD also have a number of other problems, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>other mental health problems \u2013 such as\u00a0depression,\u00a0anxiety\u00a0or\u00a0phobias<\/li>\n<li>self-harming or destructive behaviour\u00a0\u2013 such as\u00a0drug misuse\u00a0or\u00a0alcohol misuse<\/li>\n<li>other physical symptoms \u2013 such as\u00a0headaches,\u00a0dizziness,\u00a0chest pains\u00a0and\u00a0stomach aches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>PTSD sometimes leads to work-related problems and the breakdown of relationships.<\/p>\n<p>PTSD can be successfully treated even when it develops many years after a traumatic event. Any treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms and how soon they occur after the traumatic event.<\/p>\n<p>Any of the following treatments options may be recommended:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>watchful waiting<\/li>\n<li>antidepressants<\/li>\n<li>psychological therapies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One in 13 young people in England and Wales experiences post-traumatic stress disorder by the age of 18. A study of more than 2,000 18-year-olds found nearly a third had experienced trauma in childhood. A quarter of these then developed PTSD which can\u00a0 cause insomnia, flashbacks and feelings of isolation. Researchers say many young people&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":11671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251,5],"tags":[845,844,846],"class_list":["post-11669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-uk-news","tag-post-traumatic-stress-disorder","tag-ptsd","tag-ptsd-affects-one-in-13-by-the-age-of-18"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11672,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11669\/revisions\/11672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}