Post-traumatic stress disorder among athletes
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Posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
(PTSD) is a
cognitive disorder Cognitive disorders (CDs), also known as neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning, memory, perception, and problem solving. Neurocognitive disorders in ...
, which may occur after a traumatic event. It is a psychiatric disorder, which may occur across athletes at all levels of sport participation. There is a difference between the responses of a PTSD episode and a normal response to trauma. If an athlete injures his or herself in a traumatic way, it is normal for them to go through some form of hardship before overcoming the injury. They may develop small flashbacks, have bad dreams, or feel like they can't get the traumatic experience out of their mind. There are many different ways to deal with the matter of having PTSD, with some therapy treatments including psychotherapy,
art therapy Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art thera ...
or social engagement. An injured athlete could also have
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...
, which includes too much trauma to the head from practice and games.


Etiology

Athletes may often hide the severity of an injury in order to continue participating in the sport. This denial of the severity of an injury could possibly lead to an early
retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
in order for the athlete to refrain from sustaining permanent physical damage. Early retirement for an athlete could lead to feelings such as alienation, distress or uselessness. The degree to which an athlete identifies with a sport may have an impact on their emotional response to a traumatic injury. Individuals who identify strongly as athletes may be at an increased risk for psychopathology such as depression or PTSD after sustaining an injury.


Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr

An example of an athlete who experienced this is Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr.
Junior Seau Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), mostly with the San Diego Chargers. Known for his passionate play, he was a ...
was an American
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player who developed PTSD. He was born on January 19, 1969, and died on May 2, 2012. He played linebacker during his time in the NFL and had extensive experience in this role, despite the many injuries throughout his career. After his career in the NFL he developed differences in his personality due to brain injury. These changes consisted of impaired self-control and regulation, sensitive emotionally and his social skills decreased, which then led to alienation, something which was a strong opposite to his original personality. From there he developed
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
and committed suicide via a self-inflicted gunshot to his heart.


Diagnosis

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that usually occurs among individuals who have had a traumatic experience or have witnessed one (What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 2020). The most common individuals who experience PTSD are those among war, but it is not only veterans who experience this disorder. Individuals who have PTSD tend to have intense feelings and troubling thoughts in regards to their traumatic experience and these occur long after the traumatic experience has happened. In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, an individual must have had exposure to a traumatic experience or event. According to the American Psychological Association and the DSM-5, to be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must have symptoms lasting for more than one month and it must cause a crucial problem or distress in the individual's daily functions (What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 2020).


Treatment

There are several ways to treat PTSD, including various psychotherapies.
There is also the option of
art therapy Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art thera ...
, this was created by a man called
Adrian Hill Adrian Keith Graham Hill (24 March 1895 – 1977) was a British artist, writer, art therapist, educator and broadcaster. Hill served with the Honourable Artillery Company during World War I and was the first artist commissioned by the Imperial ...
, in 1942 and is one of the earliest forms of treatment. This treatment is very beneficial to those with an open mind, it involves individuals to speak to a psychologist specialising in art, and the two both either paint, sculpt or any other forms of
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. Another form of treatment, is treatment through medications; these medications aim to enhance their moments of happiness and reduce their moments of stress and anxiety. Some of these medications include
fluoxetine Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...
,
paroxetine Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder ...
,
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs increase the extracell ...
s (SSRIs),
benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, ...
s and
glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebr ...
s. Typically, resulting to medications is a last resort, but unfortunately this type of therapy can be the matter of rehabilitating someone, meaning that the don't have to live with these PTSD symptoms for the remainder of their life which is not a preferred way of life.


History

There are many sports which are fairly dangerous and involve threatening activities, especially during competition. There is always the chance of athletes getting
injured Major trauma is any injury that has the potential to cause prolonged disability or death. There are many causes of major trauma, blunt and penetrating, including falls, motor vehicle collisions, stabbing wounds, and gunshot wounds. Depending ...
while competing or during
training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
which is exactly the reason why a
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
would eventually encounter a patient who is a serious athlete and is in need of their assistance to rehabilitate their PTSD. Psychology as a general occupation has dated back to times of 1878, and around 1897 the first psychologist specialising in sport was established, by the name of Dr. Norman Triplett. Ever since, sport psychologists were helping different athletes, in the mental aspect of their game, in order for them to reach their optimum potential. PTSD became first evident due to those individuals who suffered extremely horrible experiences from war. Society noticed that those who took part in war, or had family members who took part in war, became distant from themselves and suffered terribly and found it difficult to cope with the tragedies. Researchers took note of this and aimed to evaluate the situation and come to a conclusion with how to rehabilitate these individuals, and while doing this they determined that these people had post-traumatic stress disorder. Soon after this new-found disorder was established it made it far more clearer for those sport psychologists to treat their clients, as prior to the discovery of PTSD, sports psychologists, had to come up with alternative options to rehabilitate their clients who were experiencing PTSD. These psychologists often took their clients to play different sports, completely different from their own in aim to treat them in the most comfortable way possible.


References

What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder? (2020, August). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd{{Cite web, title=What Is PTSD?, url=https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd, access-date=2020-11-25, website=www.psychiatry.org Post-traumatic stress disorder Sports medicine