Final Project

Psychological Disorder Analysis

Marla is a forty-two year-old Hispanic woman. She works as an accountant and has recently
sought help at our local clinic for several symptoms she has been experiencing. These symptoms
have begun to negatively impact her life, personally and professionally. Marlas symptoms are
sleeping difficulties, inability to concentrate, and a constant jumpy feeling. (Axia College, 2007).
Upon further investigation Marla has informed us that 7 years ago she was raped and burglarized
in her apartment. The culprit of this crime has never been arrested and Marla feels the police
have given up their efforts to apprehend him.
Marla has symptoms that are classic to those of Posttraumatic stress disorder. Posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder. PTSD occurs after a person experiences a
traumatic event (Axia College, 2007). The symptoms of PTSD include the symptoms that Marla
is experiencing along with many that can be placed in one of three categories.
1. Re-experiencing symptoms:
Flashbacksreliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a
racing heart or sweating
Bad dreams
Frightening thoughts.
2. Avoidance symptoms:
Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience
Feeling emotionally numb
Feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry
Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past
Having trouble remembering the dangerous event.
Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis



3. Hyperarousal symptoms:
Being easily startled
Feeling tense or on edge
Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.
The model within the DSM-IV suggests that people with PTSD undergo conditioning that causes
them to relate a object, place, person or sound called stimuli to the traumatic event they
experienced. People who follow the behavioral model believe there are ways to unlearn the fear
associated with the event and the stimuli through various forms of treatment (Comer, 2005).
Any traumatic event can be a causal factor in the development of PTSD. The traumatic event
may be a threatened or physical sever injury to a person, one's friends or family, one's
community, a national traumatic event, or any other traumatic event (Comer, 2005). PTSD
Support Services (2009) stated, "The most traumatic events for women are rape, sexual
molestation, physical attack, being threatened with a weapon, and childhood physical abuse"
(para 3). PTSD can occur immediately following the traumatic event, months afterward, or years
after a person experiences the event. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can develop at any stage in a
person's life (Comer, 2005)
A person creates a response of fear in response to a person, place, item, or other thing that is
associated with the traumatic event (Axia College, 2007). For example, when Marla was attacked
she was sitting on her couch watching the 11 oclock news eating a bowl of microwave popcorn
with a towel on her head and in her robe as she had just taken a shower. Now the smell of
popcorn cooking, the opening announcement of the 11 oclock news or the shower running all
Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis



have been triggering flashbacks and traumatic memories of the event. Marla has been avoiding
all of these things entirely and only runs a bath to avoid the sound of the shower. Marla has also
been experiencing detachment and loss of interest in the activities she had once enjoyed, this is
call dissociation. Dissociation is a psychological separation. The person may feel dazed, have
trouble remembering things, or feel strangely about his or her environment. What type of
sleeping difficulties is Marla experiencing? Posttraumatic stress disorder's sleeping difficulties
usually consists of insomnia and disturbed sleep due to nightmares which marla experiences
often. Emotional numbing, limited amnesia, depression and substance abuse can all be symptoms
of PTSD.
Why do some people that experience traumatic events develop PTSD while others dont? Severe
or prolonged trauma, poor coping techniques, existing anxiety problems and lack of a support
system I.E. group therapy and/or counseling are all factors in the development of PTSD. People
that are grouped lower socioeconomically are more likely to develop PTSD after experiencing a
traumatic event. (Axia College, 2007). Biological and genetic factors, personality, childhood
experience, social support, and the severity of the trauma are other factors that determine the
likelihood of developing PTSD.
Genetic factors can be used to determine the likelihood of developing PTSD. Severe
changes in the body and to the brains chemistry can occur when a traumatic event is experienced.
Abnormal levels of norepinephrine and cortisol can cause PTSD to develop. Once PTSD is
active in a person even more changes occur in the body, and the brain. The changes can occur in
the parts of the brain needed to control the way a person reacts to stress. That fact alone creates
Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis

the triggering mechanism for traumatic flashbacks. These biological factors play a role in why
some people exposed to traumatic events develop PTSD and others do not. Marls may be


predisposed to PTSD as her Grandmother had a history with anxiety disorders. Heredity is also
an issue with PTSD (Comer, 2005).

Did Marla have a normal childhood? Childhood experiences can leave some people
more prone to developing posttraumatic stress disorder later in life. People who had violent or
traumatic Childhoods are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder. Those who were
victims of abuse or assault, or who had parents that died, or divorced prior to the age of ten are
also more likely to develop PTSD (Comer, 2005).
A strong social support network is important in determining who is likely and who is less likely
to develop PTSD. Weak social support systems make it more difficult for a person to recover
from a traumatic event. People who do not feel loved, comforted, justified, or support after a
traumatic event do not usually recover as quickly as a person with a loving, strong support
system. Finally, the severity of the trauma is a factor in determining the likelihood of developing
PTSD.
The behavioral model consists of several explanations behind the development of PTSD while
focusing on one's behavior and life. People who follow the behavioral model believe that actions
are determined by the experiences in one's life. The behavioral model focuses on the responses
that one makes to one's environment. The behavioral aspects are both external, like driving to
the store, and internal, like what a person is feeling. Behavioral theorists base their explanations
Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis

on the principles of learning. The principles of learning are the processes of behaviors changing
in response to a person's environment. This consists of different types of conditioning; operant
conditioning, modeling, and classical conditioning. Operant conditioning occurs when a person
receives rewards to behave a certain way. Modeling occurs when a person observes other people

and acts the way he or she sees the others act. Classical conditioning is the product of learning by
temporal association. Temporal association occurs when a person associates two things even if
they would otherwise not have anything to do with one another like Marla's example traumatic
experience and the sound of running water (Comer, 2005). Behavioral theorists believe that if
something can be learned it can be unlearned. Therefore, if Marla experienced a situation where
she was exposed to a traumatic event, learned to associate something with that traumatic event,
and is now dealing with symptoms of PTSD due to those stimuli she can learn how to unlearn
her fears of the stimuli. The symptoms should be able to be lessened or controlled through the
use of treatment.
There are several treatment methods for posttraumatic stress disorder. Systematic
desensitization, stress-inoculation training (SIT), encouraging time management skills, couples
therapy, family therapy, anger management, cognitive techniques, and medications are offered
individuality or as a combination of two or more methods of treatment. Comer (2005) stated:
Today's treatment procedures for troubled survivors typically vary from trauma to
trauma. Was it combat, sexual molestation, or a major accident? Yet all the programs
share basic goals: they try to help survivors put an end to their stress reactions, gain
perspective on their painful experiences, and return to constructive living (p 142, 144).

Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis

Medications are offered as a form of treatment to people with PTSD. Antianxiety drugs are used
to control tension in PTSD patients. Antidepressants are used to reduce other symptoms in
PTSD; however, not all symptoms can be reduced by using antidepressants (Comer, 2005).
There is no medication made specifically for the treatment of PTSD. Certain medicines have

been proven to be useful on different symptoms of PTSD though. Selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs) are antidepressants. SSRIs include Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft, and other
antidepressant medications. These medications increase the serotonin level that is said to be a
causal factor in the development of PTSD. The increase of serotonin allows anxiety symptoms to
be relieved, because an appropriate amount of serotonin in the brain reduces anxiety stated:
Several studies have found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be
useful in the treatment of PTSD. While these studies generally found that SSRIs were
successful in addressing many PTSD symptoms, findings were not quite as strong as
what is found in studies examining the success of cognitive behavioral treatments for
PTSD. In addition, SSRIs may not address all PTSD symptoms
In closing, many factors in Marlas life had loaded the bullets into the gun that is PTSD. It was,
of course, the traumatic event of rape that has pulled the trigger. With self-determination, proper
support and the help of the latest successful medications, Marla stands to make a full recovery.
And return to a nomal healthy life.



Final Project
Psychological Disorder Analysis




References
Axia College. (2007). Course Syllabus. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from Axia College, Week
Nine, PSY270 - Abnormal Psychology.
Axia College. (2007). Faces of abnormal psychology interactive [Computer Software]. Retrieved
August 1, 2009, from Axia College, Simulation, PSY270 - Abnormal Psychology.
Comer, R. J. (2005). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (4th ed.). New York: Worth.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2008). Post-traumatic stress disorder (easy-to-
read). Retrieved August 3, 2009, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-
traumatic-stress-disorder-easy-to-read/index.shtml
PTSD Support Services. (2009). Treatments of PTSD. Retrieved August 2, 2009, from
http://www.ptsdsupport.net/