VICTIMS of violence, or those involved in terrifying events, such as the recent fire-bombing of the Hongkong Bank, may suffer long-term damage to their health that can last long after any physical injury has healed.
The symptoms of this underlying illness can be slow to develop, but they can strike anyone who has been through a severely traumatic experience, be it a serious car accident, a fire or a robbery, and can last for years.
Called post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS), this psychological condition was first identified in US soldiers as they began to return from the war in Vietnam. Today, the medical fraternity has come to recognise it as a serious problem affecting not only soldiers but also anyone who has gone through a particularly disturbing or horrific time.
PTSS can develop immediately after such an event, or the person may go through a 'numb' period first, a psychiatrist explained. But he stressed that the experience would have to be extremely distressing to trigger the condition. A divorce, for example, though stressful, would not cause PTSS.
Symptoms include anxiety and distress, crying, screaming, sweating, heart palpitations, difficulty in breathing, dizziness and muscle spasms. Nightmares and phobias can also occur, said the doctor. These sensations can come on suddenly or be triggered by a situation that reminds the sufferer of the horror of the event.
Someone who is attacked by a dog could find himself having anxiety attacks whenever he sees one. Very often people who are involved in severe motor vehicle accidents find themselves suffering these symptoms when they use the same form of transport again.
