We generally tend to think that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) only affects people who have been in combat, in a horrific natural disaster, suffered serious injury in an accident, or affected by a devastating terrorist attack. The truth is, it also can occur as a result of long lasting stress.

You’d expect anyone in such a fearful situation would develop PTSD, but they don’t. Some people can endure the most traumatic event and not develop it. So what makes one person susceptible and another not?

There are certain characteristics that can put you more at risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder.

1. Previous chronic exposure to stress. We each have our own thresholds of stress tolerance and those who have endured a lot of ongoing stress in their lives are generally considered to be more susceptible.

2. Pre-existing psychological disorders. If you have depression or anxiety, or a family history of these diseases, you are more at risk to develop post traumatic stress disorder.

3. Inadequate support systems. At the time of the trauma, if you do not have the support of friends and family to help you deal with the emotional impact of a traumatic event, you will be more susceptible to developing post traumatic stress disorder.

4. Recent stressful life changes. If you’ve gone through some serious changes in your life prior to the traumatic event, you will be at risk for post traumatic stress disorder. Life changes in themselves don’t necessarily have to cause stress, but when you have one stressful event after another, it all adds up to chronic stress.

5. Feeling that you lack control of your life. This can happen when things seem to happen regardless of your actions. You might have become overwhelmed with the way your life has changed and the events that are bombarding you. At some point, it’s likely you might develop a sense you have no control of what happens to you. This sets you up to be at risk of PTSD if a major trauma happens to you or around you.

6. Excessive alcohol use. Alcohol is often used to ease stress, which indicates that you are already have the beginnings of a condition can give rise to post traumatic stress disorder.

Here’s a new program I just discovered that you might want to check out. Change That’s Right Now provides help in dealing with fears, phobias and anxiety attacks.

If you think you have a phobia and don’t know what to call it, here’s a list that might help.

I just came across this huge list that contains every type of phobia you can imagine. Here are some samples I picked out at random:

Fear Of Writing In Public

It might sound a bit odd to some, but this is actually more common than you might think. This phobia arises whenever the individual has to write while in public, where people can see them writing. It can cause sweating, heightened awareness, sweating, and anxiety.

Vaccinophobia or Fear of Vaccinations

Many people can relate to this fear, as not too many people like to be vaccinated. Most of us cringe a little until it’s over and that’s it. But some people are so intensely afraid that they experience more severe reactions, such as rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread. Some people become so afraid that they pass out.

Zoophobia or Fear of Animals

This is a surprisingly common fear that can cause panic attacks. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread. While these are the common responses to fear of animals, everyone is different and can have different symptoms.

These are just a few that I picked out. Check the Phobia List for yourself and see what other phobias there are. While phobias can be a serious affliction, it can be interesting to read about some of the things people are afraid of, like fear of flutes, fear of ventriloquists’ dummies, fear of freedom, fear of hearing good news, fear of string, and many others.

It’s a little hard to believe that a bump on the head could cause a brain injury, but it’s true. What’s more, it can lead to anxiety attacks and depression even after recovery.

A cyclist recently reported that he suddenly developed anxiety attacks after a hit and run accident. He was thrown from his bike and must have hit his head because he was unconscious for awhile. He was lucky because he was able to walk away, but he began to suffer anxiety attacks for the first time in his life. This incident has made him afraid to ride his bicycle on the roadway.

Some accident victims aren’t so lucky. They end up in a coma and have various levels of paralysis that never go away. Unfortunately, doctors can add to the resulting anxiety attacks and depression because they tend to be negative in their prognosis. Their reasoning is that they don’t want the patient to be too disappointed if they don’t have a full recovery, or at least one they can live with. If they do recover, this would be great news. It’s important, therefore, to find a doctor who can be realistic but still leave the patient and family members with hope.

Fighting the injuries is a struggle in itself. Fighting the depression and anxiety attacks adds to that struggle.

It’s important to pay close attention to any head injury, no matter how slight. If you have an accident involving your head, be alert to any changes in your emotional well-being, and especially negativity, depression and anxiety attacks that did not exist prior to the event.

The sooner you seek help for the depression and anxiety, the more quickly and effectively you will recover.

Do you spent a lot of time surfing the internet? Do you wake in the morning and soon feel you just have to get online? Is it just an urge, or is it a craving? A craving is far more serious than an urge, as that is the element of addiction.

If you spend a lot of time online, it could be causing your anxiety disorder or depression. According to a Tel Aviv University psychiatrist and some of his colleagues, 10% of internet users have a condition that has been named, “internet addiction disorder” which is considered to be an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that can lead to anxiety disorder and depression.

The researchers have identified certain groups of people who are most susceptible to this recently discovered condition. Those most at risk are teenagers, men in their mid-50s and women. It is especially common in people who suffer from loneliness because the internet provides the element of human interaction that’s missing in their lives.

Internet Addiction Disorder can be recognized by its symptoms which can include feeling isolated, anxiety disorder, lack of sleep, and periods of deep depression.

Because of the potential problems this disorder can cause, people are advised to be more aware of their own potential internet addiction and that of their teens. If you suspect the condition exists, the obvious solution is to minimize internet use or seek professional help, as it can be considered as serious as other addictive behaviors such as gambling, theft, drug and alcohol abuse.

And as with other addictions, you might need to use similar treatments to break free of your craving. Anxiety disorder can be successfully treated with the right program, which might be talk therapy, drug therapy or a combination of the two.

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