NCJ Number
175327
Date Published
1999
Length
467 pages
Annotation
This book examines how posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) begins, how it progresses and changes lives, and how to prevent or manage dangerous PTSD symptoms.
Abstract
As many as one in three police officers may suffer from PTSD, a condition that could lead to depression, thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts, addictions, and eating disorders as well as job and family conflict. The signs of PTSD include nightmares, flashbacks, anger, concentration problems, emotional detachment, and avoidance of people and places. The book attempts to prepare police officers for the aftermath of horrific trauma; to help families understand PTSD's effects on their loved ones; tells true stories of officers--men and women--with PTSD; and offers more than 200 international support sources. The book is intended primarily to assist police officers, but could be of use to war veterans, corrections officers, paramedics, fire fighters, nurses, doctors, security officers, crime victims--anyone suffering from trauma. Appendix, notes, bibliography, indexes