Life Beyond Death: In the lens of PTSD

"To Live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die "

We have the strongest bonds with the ones we love; these relationships shape who we are. They shape our identities and can reshape us for better or worse. As a result, the death of a loved one can result in a variety of psychological issues, including PTSD, especially if the loss was tragic and unexpected.

We know that survivors frequently endure despair or anxiety following the death of a loved one. We don't usually consider them to have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although it can happen, especially after a tragic loss.

PTSD is defined as having "experienced, observed, or been faced with a horrific incident." The news of an unexpected death elicits particularly intense emotions since it takes us off guard. A terrible demise amplifies those emotions.

According to Keyes et al. 2014 .'s study1, "unexpected death was consistently related with heightened risks of new onsets of PTSD, panic disorder, and depressive episodes at all phases of the life cycle."

Grief is the agony you feel when someone you care about dies. Loss can be excruciatingly painful. Though it may appear to be a constant state of sadness, it is also anger, guilt, shame, and regret. Grief can also interfere with your physical health, making sleeping, eating, or even thinking complex.

Grief is a natural and healthy reaction to the death of a loved one. You may have heard of the Kübler-Ross model, which states that there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. It is unnecessary to go through all five stages of grief because grief is not a linear process, and everyone grieves differently.

PTSD symptoms include

feeling regularly furious, anxious, or jumpy.

Heart palpitations, sweating, or hyperventilation are examples of physical symptoms.

Trauma flashbacks or focusing on what the victim may have gone through in their dying moments

Avoidance of items or situations that remind us of the person or place where the tragedy happened regularly.

Avoiding the emotions associated with the death or incident.

Sleeping difficulties or nightmares

Changing their daily routine to avoid being reminded of the occurrence. Feelings of guilt were distorted, and they blamed themselves for the circumstance.

Negative ideas.

Most of the time, individuals gradually recover from the shock and sadness of death.

However, for people with PTSD, the symptoms significantly impact their daily lives and last at least a month.