Isolation and Sleep Disorder

These are two symptoms that can be signs of PTSD but commonly be seen as separate conditions all together in today's society. With today's stress levels at an all time high in most people, these are two conditions that have become more common place than before.

Isolation symptoms in PTSD are recognized as withdrawn behavior, avoidance and silence, demonstrated in many combat zone vets. Poor ability to relate to others and relationships may break down. The vet may be preoccupied with memories of their service experiences, lost friends and have difficulties with sharing these thoughts, anger, sadness, guilt or any of their feelings. The vet just wants to be left alone most of the time, and eventually shut themselves off completely from non-veterans because they perceive others as those who do not understand. They may even separate themselves from and avoid the very base of support they started to be part of and need. This avoidance is one of the key symptoms of PTSD and can be one of the most damaging to the mindset of the vet.

The consequences of withdrawn behavior can be that the vet's family and friends may suffer as well as the vet. People may start to avoid the sufferer, the vet, because they do not understand this behavior. Withdrawn behavior can easily be mistaken with hostility, brooding anger, or rudeness.

The process to recovery from isolation is first recognizing why and when you feel these symptoms. Psychotherapy may be beneficial to the healing process, but it takes time to regain that trusting feeling that you are not alone. You need to start with one or two of your closest family members or friends, and gradually escalate to a small group of fellow veterans and then more as you go. Isolation is one of the symptoms that may not be directly addressed but instead gets rolled into other symptoms and treatments.

Sleep disorders are a result of many other symptoms playing on the mind and body. When you are diagnosed with a sleep disorder, you either sleep too much, which is called hypersomnia, or you sleep too little, which is call insomnia. Disordered sleep can begin and gather steam secondary to the other PTS symptoms. A confirmed diagnosis of PTSD almost certainly means you will have sleep disorders of some sort. In most healthy adults, you benefit from 8 hours of sleep each night. Less or more sleep than that can result in the loss of energy, concentration, and motivation. This is why it almost always can be associated with PTS symptoms. It starts with yawning allot during the day, feeling weak and tired, feel the need to nap or cannot keep awake or go in the opposite direction and just feel wired all the time.

Sleep disorders have physical and emotional symptoms which may include racing thoughts, nightmares, rapid heart rate. night sweats, headache, nausea, or other symptoms of anxiety, as you struggle to sleep or not to sleep. Triggers to sleep disorders may include watching a violent movie or something as simple as a news footage of battle and combat. It can be the result of a troubling day which leads to laying awake with your thoughts screaming through you mind, not allowing you to calm down enough to get a restful sleep. It can also be other problems, physical or emotional, that effect your slepping habits.

Medications are very useful in this disorder. I am on two sleeping medications, with one being combined as a mood and sleep aid (quite a few of my medications combine as two or more aids to PTSD and medical problems). Before medication, I started to sleep less and less, starting with up to 3 hours sleep at a time, sommetimes once or twice a night. It eventually came down to where I was sleeping for 30 or so minutes, then stay awake for hours before getting another 30 or so minutes of sleep. All night I was lucky if I got more than a total of a hour and a half of sleep. Most anti-depression medications will help in sleep disorders. Now with medication, I can get at least 5 hours of solid sleep and maybe another hour after waking up and then falling back to sleep a night.

What many do not realize is the need and necessity for a good and sound sleep each night. Without this, sleep disorders will effect your motivation and moods, hypertension, anxiety and most other symptoms of PTSD. This is why sleep disorders is the symptom that effects all the other symptoms of PTSD.

All these symptoms listed today, and previously, will greatly effect the veteran's life. While most do not realize or recognize what the veteran is going though, they also do not recognize the effect on the spouse and friends, and the vet's relationships. Next time we will discuss those effects on others, outside of the veteran himself/herself. We will discuss what is called STSD or Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder.