Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay Example for Free

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay In his book, ‘post-traumatic stress disorder source book’, Schiraldi, Glenn identifies three major causes of post-traumatic stress disorder. These are, â€Å"intentional Human causes (the most difficult to recover from), unintentional Human causes and the acts of Nature (least complex and can be resolved quickly)† (Schiraldi, 2000: pg.4). The intentional human causes include those traumatic events that are intentionally caused or triggered by humans. These events include war, rape, physical torture, robbery with violence, use of bombs and explosions, killing someone, kidnapping and holding others hostage. Unintentional human causes involve those traumatic events that occur accidentally. These include car accidents, plane crash, collapse of a building, fire and exposure to nuclear reactants. There are also post-traumatic stress disorders that are caused by events of nature. These natural catastrophes are always more severe and disastrous. It includes earthquakes, flood, drought, outbreak of certain diseases, hurricanes and occurrence of volcanic activities. Other cause that may trigger post-traumatic stress disorder involves the changes in the normal biochemical rate in the brain which results to a condition known as Neuroendocrinology. Apart from this condition, morphological changes in the brain have also been identified as another cause of post-traumatic stress disorder. Various studies have shown that the existence of amygdale in the brain usually result to the development of emotional flashbacks. These flashbacks are mainly those related to worry and horror. Genetics have also been identified as another cause leading to post-traumatic stress disorder. Various studies in genetics have shown that some characteristics that are possessed by a parent who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are sometimes passed on to the children. These characteristics that are usually passed to the children include violence and aggressiveness. Signs and symptoms: The signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder usually manifest itself within three to four months following the trauma. In other cases, these symptoms might last for a year or even several years. The symptoms in most cases manifest in various ways as discussed below. 1) Recurring memories: Memories and experiences of the real traumatic event usually re-emerge in form of dreams, images and thoughts. The re-emergence of these memories is usually unexpected and the victim usually undergoes difficult moment since the memories are so hard to bear. Such memories in most cases inflict feelings of fear to the victim, anger and also guilt. In his book, Schiraldi Glenn provides an example to this scenario by stating that, â€Å"a survivor of a Russian prisoner-of –war camp often daydreams, absorbed in unpleasant memories and out of touch with his surroundings. A number of cues can trigger this re-experience, including thin soup, walking in the woods, Russian music, a harsh rebuke by a supervisor, or any unpleasant confrontation. Sometimes there is no apparent connection to the thoughts or feelings that are replayed,† (Schiraldi, 2000: pg 7). Recurring memories usually manifest in terms of nightmares. These nightmares in most cases reflect the accurate traumatic events or almost similar events as those of the real trauma. Most individuals who experience nightmares in most cases do not get enough sleep as they are being interrupted by the imaginations. Recurring memories can also manifest in terms of flash backs. Flash backs makes an individual feel as if the real traumatic events are being revived and can influence the behavior and the feelings of an individual. 2) Arousal: Post-traumatic stress disorder is also characterized by over reaction of an individual to any event that seems to cause panic. The victims’ reaction becomes spontaneous due to the sensitivity of the nervous system as a result of destructive traumatic events. The reaction of an individual to even smaller interruptions is as spontaneous as the bigger ones. As a result of arousal, an individual usually develops difficulties in falling asleep, lacks concentration, becomes short tempered, overcautious, develops fear to the recurrence of the same event, becomes over expectant to disasters and overprotective. 3) Avoidance or numbing: Because the thoughts of traumatic events are very painful to most of the victims, most people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder usually look for various ways of avoiding the reminders to such events. In most cases, they avoid talking about it while in other instances they restrict their minds from thinking about such events. Most of the victims therefore end up staying indoors to avoid coming in contact to reminders of the tragic events. 4) The normal routine of an individual is disrupted: One losses interest in his/her future ambitions due to too much cautiousness and the avoidance of exploring different avenues and mingling with other people to gain more knowledge. Victims of post-traumatic stress disorder are therefore in most cases locked in their own world. Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: Treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder is mainly aimed at relieving symptoms because there is no treatment that can completely wipe out the post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment can therefore be achieved by use of two methods. These include use of drugs and non-drug treatment methods. Non-drug treatments involve the following; a) Cognitive therapy: It is believed that different ways of thinking can lead to various mental disorders including the post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, during the cognitive therapy, the patient is advised on various thinking patterns and how to avoid false perceptions and thoughts. They are also thought on the importance of thinking positively and constructively. At the end of every session, each and every patient is given an assignment to go and try it out at home (http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain). b) Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: This treatment usually involves therapist asking the patient to think about any traumatic occurrence. As the patient is thinking about the event, the therapist moves his/her fingers so that the patient can follow it with his/her eyes (Schmeltzer Bhagar, 2007). It is not clear how this treatment works but after a couple of therapy session, most of the patients are no longer worried by the thoughts of the event. c) Individual Help: This involves all the individuals having the same signs coming up together. The patients can then share their experiences and learn from one another on the possible ways of overcoming the trauma. Medication treatment: a) Antidepressant drugs: These drugs are in real sense used in the treatment of depression but it has also been found out to suppress the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. They usually work by blocking the chemicals in the brain that lead to the development of the symptoms. These drugs usually take two to four weeks or even months before their results can be noticed. b) Benzodiazepines: These drugs are used for short term mainly to reduce the chances of an individual not falling asleep and also to get rid of those symptoms leading to sleep interruptions. The problem with this drug is that they are not effective if taken for a longer period of time. The patient is supposed to use it within two to three weeks (Rose Armstrong 1997). Prevention: Post-traumatic stress can be prevented by employing the following measures; 1) Debriefing: This technique is usually employed to soldiers after war and also to those victims that underwent through events of natural catastrophes (Schmeltzer Bhagar, 2007). It mainly involves victims exchanging feelings and thoughts about the tragic event. 2) Immediate therapy: Studies have shown that incase an individual is provided with therapy within the first two weeks of trauma, the chances of individual developing long term post-traumatic stress disorder is drastically reduced. 3) Taking short medication drugs: Drugs such as benzodiazepine when taken by the victim immediately, the chances of him/her developing long-term symptoms is also reduced. Conclusion: Though most of the victims of post-traumatic stress take long to experience the symptoms; it is very crucial that an individual who is suffering from trauma seek for help immediately. The treatment that the victim is able to obtain will be very useful as it will suppress the long term symptoms from re-emerging. Victims of trauma that usually don’t get treatment can be completely crippled by the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Some victims may feel guilt of surviving a tragic event or not providing enough assistance to those who perished. These may negatively affect on the normalcy of an individual.

Do the Right Thing Scene Analysis Essay -- Film Analysis

Do the Right Thing is a dramatic comedic film that was directed by Spike Lee. The movie was released in 1989. Lee served in three capacities for the film: writer, director and producer of the movie, Ernest Dickenson was the cinematographer and Barry Alexander Brown was the film’s editor. For this film, Lee garnered together some notable actors and actresses, including Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Rosie Perez, Samuel L. Jackson, John Tuturro and Martin Lawrence. The setting of the movie is in Bedford-Stuyvesant; which is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. This particular neighborhood is made up of several ethnic groups that include African Americas, Italians, Koreans, and Puerto Ricans. The movie takes place on a particularly hot day during the summer time. The extreme heat causes tensions between the different races in the neighborhood. In this paper, I will attempt to show how mise-en-scà ¨ne, camera work, editing, and sound are used to convey â€Å"explicit† an d â€Å"implicit† meaning in one scene in Do the Right Thing. The scene that I will be analyzing takes place towards the end of the movie in which all the racial tensions that were boiling over erupted like a volcano and spewed out. This particular scene is about five minutes in length and is composed of about 25 shots. It takes place at the end of the day after Sal’s Famous Pizzeria has closed. We see that the pizzeria is closed and Sal is having a conversation with his sons Vito and Pino about him wanting to change the name of his store to Sal and Son’s Pizzeria. He also tells Mookie, â€Å"You are like a son to me.† The suddenly we here banging on the door, it’s the neighborhood kids wanting to get a slice of pizza. Although the pizzeria is closed, Sal tells a reluctant Mookie... ...xt shot we observe them on the outside, for this Brown uses a straight cut rather than a jump cut to promote continuity into the next scene. All the scenes in the movie including this one take places in chronological order in a linear fashion. The editor also uses reverse angle cutting as well. In the end, this particular scene of Do Right Thing, has both implicit and explicit meanings. Work Cited Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Martin Lawrence, Bill Nunn, Richard Edson, Roger Guenveur Smith and Spike Lee. Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks.1989. Streaming (Netflix) â€Å"Do the Right Thing.† IMBD.com. Internet Movie Database, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print

A Critical Analysis of My Strengths and Weaknesses

A Critical Analysis of My Strengths and Weaknesses in the skills of Assertiveness Assertiveness enables us to act in our own best interests, to stand up for ourselves without undue anxiety, to exercise personal rights without denying the rights of others, and to express our feelings honestly and comfortably (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). Within interpersonal communication, the skill of assertion is absolutely vital; it is a skill we are constantly utilising either consciously or unconsciously.Through nurturing the skill of assertiveness a person may have fruitful relationships with family, friends, peers, superiors and subordinates (Rakos, 1997) based on honesty and equality. The skill of Assertiveness can be viewed in differently within diverse cultures, for example in the highly extraverted, expressive and individualistic culture that is apparent in America; Assertiveness is a particularly important, if not essential skill.However in the much more reserved and introverted culture of Bri tain more emphasis is placed on interpersonal sensitivity, being a rewarding partner and the use of non-verbal signals (Forgas, 1985). The skill of Assertion has 9 main functions, these include; helping individuals to ensure that their personal rights are not violated, make reasonable requests of others, recognise the personal rights of others, avoid unnecessary aggressive conflicts and confidently, and openly communicate their position regarding any issue (Hargie, 2009).Assertiveness is a skill that is learned and training is available for those who may find it hard to assert their feelings within a social context. Assertiveness is a great skill to possess however there are times when an assertive response may in fact be the least responsive, in such times a non assertive or passive response may be what is required. The different levels of response are displayed well by the continuum which ranges from Non Assertive – Assertive – Aggressive.In most instances people sho uld aim to remain as close to assertive on the continuum as possible, as this promotes both standing up for yourself whilst also taking the other persons views into consideration. As a result of my Assertiveness practical I found myself to be just slightly towards the more non-assertive side of the continuum. I was quite pleased with this result as I did not want to be positioned too close to aggressive or non assertive.Throughout the Assertiveness Practical I had a number of Strengths which were outweighed by quite a number of Weaknesses, this is natural as Rakos stated â€Å"Assertion is a learned skill, not a trait that a person has or lacks. † An area throughout the practical in which I was strong was ‘Gesturing’, upon analysing my video I found my gestures to be smooth and fluid, I feel this conveyed a non-verbal message that I was calm within the situation. Accentuating your message with appropriate gestures can add emphasis, openness and warmth.A relaxed u se of gestures can add depth or power to your messages (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). Another area which analysing my practical revealed I was strong was ‘Paralanguage’ this can include an individual’s rate of speech, intensity, tone and volume. I found the tone of my voice to be conversational but not overly friendly and I felt this was perfect for the situation, the other people involved in the practical commented on the intensity of my voice being quite firm but not intimidating as the still felt comfortable.This is quite an important aspect of being assertive as a Kimble and Seidel study showed that those who spoke with a dominant conversational tone where perceived as being confident and therefore more likely to gain a more adequate answers (Richmond & McCroskey, 2000). Analysing my practical led me to see that I excelled in complex direct assertion, most notably the use of embellishments. Embellishments lessen the social risk whilst having a discussion with some one, however if they are used too much they can be seen as false and can dilute a person’s argument. I was particularly well versed in the use of both Praise and Empathy.An example of this in my practical was when the woman, who was trying to return a phone which was out of warranty said â€Å"you must understand where I’m coming from† in response to this I said â€Å"of course I do Miss X, I was in your position just over a year ago before I began to work here and you are handling the situation much better than I did. † The woman who prior to this piece of dialogue was getting rather agitated seemed to calm down and come to terms with what I was trying to explain. Hargie states that empathic assertion conveys sensitivity to the other person thus allowing that person to feel understood and not undermined.Although I had a number of Strengths throughout my practical I also had quite a few weaknesses which are illustrated by my personal assertiveness invento ry score which was +9, although the class average was +2, my score still showed that I can be assertive but find it quite difficult. One of the weaknesses I noticed was that I failed to keep eye contact with the person in my practical; this was a major flaw and undoubtedly hindered my assertiveness. At quite regular intervals, namely when the discussion was getting a bit heated, I tended to look at the desk in front of me rather than focus on the other person.Gaze aversion is typically an intentional act, you may be unsure of yourself and do not want him/her to see it in your eyes (Richmond & McCroskey, 2000). This was probably the case in my practical, I was unfamiliar with the given situation and felt that I was out of my depth thus I avoided eye contact; I can now see that this was a critical mistake. The second major flaw that I had involved my body posture, upon analysing the practical I realised that during our entire interaction my body was never directly facing the other per sons.When talking to another person, notice how much more personal the conversation becomes with a slight turn of the shoulders and torso toward the other person, this suggests confidence and openness to the conversation at hand (Alberti & Emmons, 2008). I now realise from my practical I was portraying quite a defensive posture, thus not putting the other person at ease whilst talking to me. Also from a defensive posture it is a lot harder to be assertive as the other person is likely to already have a certain prejudice about you.My final and most glaring weakness was overuse of the â€Å"broken record† approach, after analysing my practical session I realised that I used the phrase â€Å"I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do† a staggering amount of times. This is not a good tactic to employ as it can frustrate the other person, it can also dilute the argument and take away the relevance of what you are saying. Persistence should not be confused with the broken rec ord method, â€Å"be fair with others and keep after them until they’re fair with you† (Alberti & Emmons, 2008).Throughout my practical I also used too much ‘you language’, this attributed responsibility to the other person and was possibly too aggressive rather than assertive. In conclusion I feel that as a whole my assertiveness practical was a success; there are a number of areas in which I can improve vastly such as posture and eye contact. However I feel that I did do extremely well in a few areas, these being; gesturing and embellishments. Jim Rohn once said â€Å"Every time we speak we choose one of the four basic communication styles: assertive, aggressive, passive and passive aggressive†.This quotation helps me to illustrate that our learning of the skill of Assertion is continuous, throughout this practical research I have realised that Assertiveness is a great facet of an individual’s personality, and when used right can be an outs tanding tool. When a person has mastered the skill they will know when to be assertive, whom to be assertive with and with what intensity to put their message across (Journal of Communication, Volume 19, Issue 03, Pages 257-265). In a minority of places where cultural sensitivity is raw assertion may be deemed somewhat wreck less.Nevertheless, assertion that accommodates cultural norms is an accepted communication style and is widely used the world over. (Hargie, 2002) References Alberti, R. and Emmons, M. (1975) Stand Up, Speak Out, Talk Back: The Key to Assertive Behaviour. Pocket Books, New York Alberti, R. and Emmons, M. (2008) You’re Perfect Right, Assertiveness and Equality in Your Life and Relationships. Impact, San Luis Obisopo American Communication Journal, Volume 10, Issue 01, Spring 2008. Forgas, J. (1985) Interpersonal Bahaviour: The Psychology of Social Interaction. Hargie, O. , Dickson, D.Skilled Interpersonal Communication, Research, Theory and Practice, 7th e dition. Routledge, London. Chapter 11. Journal of Communication, Volume 19, Issue 03, Pages 257-265, September 1969 Knapp, M. and Vangelisti, A. (2006) Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships. Allyn and Bacon, Texas Rakos, R. (2006) Assertive Behaviour: Theory, Research and Training. Routledge, London. Richmond, V. and McCroskey, J. (2000) NonVerbal Behaviour in Interpersonal Relationships, Allyn and Bacon, Texas The Electronic Journal of Communication, Volume 13, Number 4 2003. Townend, A. (2007) Assertiveness and Diversity. Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Civil Wars The Most Common Form Of War - 1683 Words

Even though it seems like war and violence are a widespread and common occurrence nowadays due to the media, in reality, we currently live in one of the most peaceful times in history. The prevalence of war is decreasing, especially between different countries. Even though the prevalence of wars is decreasing, civil wars are the most common form of war nowadays and surpasses the other types of war in the world. Over the course of time, civil wars have changed in a variety of ways. Not only has the means in which civil wars are carried about changed, but as a result, the strategies to end civil wars have also changed. While strategies may differ in regards to dealing and ending civil wars, there is a general consensus in the international†¦show more content†¦Over time, the percentage of wars that are intrastate conflicts and not conflicts between states has increased dramatically. The end of the Cold War brought about a rise in civil wars throughout the international system. â€Å"The spike of civil wars following the end of the Cold War ended the â€Å"euphoria of the early 1990s† and gave way to â€Å"frustration† and â€Å"disillusionment in the mid-1990s† (Brown 1996, 11); it also popularized the view that the new era spelled a â€Å"coming anarchy† through the eruption of â€Å"new wars† (Kaldor 1999; Kaplan 1994)† (International System and Technologies of Rebellion: How the End of the Cold War Shaped Internal Conflict STATHIS N. KALYVAS, LAIA BALCELLS, p. 3). As time has passed and technology has improved, the ability of rebel forces to be able to organize and fight has blossomed. By focusing â€Å"on technologies of rebellion has several advantages. It allows the study of civil wars as an evolving and dynamic historical phenomenon rather than one that remains constant over time† (International System and Technologies of Rebellion: How the End of the Cold War Shaped Internal Conflict STATHIS N. KAL YVAS, LAIA BALCELLS, p. 2). The three types of technologies of civil war