Question

How is personality related to the development of stress disorders? How can experiencing a natural or accidental disaster could result in PTSD. 

Answer 1

• Individuals differ dramatically in their response to a problem or a stressor. Some people are born with a temperament that predisposes them to higher or lower levels of tolerance to stress. The Type A personality types behavior makes people more prone to stress-related disorders and other physical illnesses as well,like high blood pressure,heart disease etc.
• To some degree, it is human nature to feel stressed when we aren’t sure what to do or when faced with making a difficult or frustrating decision. And, some individuals may have a heightened level of arousal in the central nervous system, causing them to react more excitedly to events and adapt more slowly.
• Natural disasters often result in many cases of PTSD for survivors. There are various types of common traumatic events, all known to lead to PTSD. One type of trauma results from natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados or hurricanes, forest fires, floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides, or tsunamis. These types of experiences are particularly insidious because they tend to traumatize large populations of people at once.
• Natural disasters can be sudden and overwhelming. The most immediate and typical reaction to a calamity is shock, which at first manifests as numbness or denial.
• Quickly or eventually shock can give way to an overemotional state that often includes high levels of anxiety, guilt or depression.People might have lost their loved ones or their homes. As a result they may feel helpless, they may have to live in camps or shelters without support from relatives or friends for extended time periods,leading to high level of stress causing PTSD.