The American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association came up with a diagnostic indicator initiated from the mental illness statistical manual. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an illness included in the DSM-5, trauma, and stressor-associated illness (Pai et al., 2017). All the conditions that classify this disease need a separate exposure to stress.
One indicator of the PTSD diagnosis is stressors. This might open up in a person who has been exposed to death or was threatened with extinction. It can occur after a direct personal exposition to trauma witnessing, including natural or indirect stressful details. The second indicator is the intrusion symptoms. This can be experienced differently in children, including having an unwanted upset memory, nightmares, flashbacks, as well as emotional distress (Pai et al., 2017). The third indicator is avoidance. This is where the child is set to cope with ways to avoid the trauma-related stimuli through their feelings and thoughts or having an external reminder. The fourth indicator is having an adverse change in cognition and moods. This is always seen when a negative feeling began or has risen due to trauma-related issues (Carmassi et al., 2017). Children can show an inability to remember key features, exaggerated blames, and decreased activities. Lastly, there is a change in arousal and reactivity. This is seen through irritability or aggression in children, hypervigilance, concentration difficulty, and difficulty sleeping.
On one of the occasions, I came to witness a child suffering from PSTD. The child looked weak. He mostly isolated himself from other people due to the frequent witness of terrifying circumstances. The child could frequently have nightmares or flashbacks, a heightened stimuli reactivity, anxiety, and depression. It seems that this was the most challenging moment in his life hence. I recommended that he be given psychotherapy and medication that could help in the management of the symptoms.
References
Carmassi, C., Corsi, M., Gesi, C., Bertelli, C. A., Faggioni, F., Calderani, E., … & Dell’Osso, L. (2017). DSM-5 criteria for PTSD in parents of pediatric patients with epilepsy: What are the changes concerning DSM-IV-TR?. Epilepsy & Behavior, 70, 97-103. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505016302669
Pai, A., Suris, A. M., & North, C. S. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder in the DSM-5: Controversy, change, and conceptual considerations. Behavioral Sciences, 7(1), 7. Retrieved from: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/7/1/7