Traumatic experiences can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that is often not taken seriously enough, a Hsinchu-based doctor said on Monday.
Chou Po-han (周伯翰), a psychiatrist at China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, earlier this year treated a 60-year-old woman after she experienced strong stress due to the demands of her parents-in-law with whom she had been living for several years while her husband was working in China.
The woman’s symptoms emerged after her parents-in-law passed away and her children had grown up, Chou said.
The woman in the past few years increasingly experienced depression, and began having mood swings and suicidal thoughts, he said.
“The majority of PTSD cases occur after traumatic experiences that cause intense feelings of fear and helplessness,” he said.
People with PTSD experience symptoms including “flashbacks” of the traumatic event, heightened alertness, long-term anxiety and negative moods, Chen said, adding that they also tend to avoid people or things that they associate with the traumatic event.
“People with PTSD most of the time appear emotionally stable, but if something triggers memories of the traumatic event, they might experience depression or other negative feelings, that might last for several weeks,” he said.
Citing a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Chou said that people with PTSD often have suicidal thoughts or even become violent toward others.
In cases such as that of the woman who experienced traumatic stress when living with her parents-in-law, the greatest challenge is that the source of PTSD is often years in the past, and the disorder goes unnoticed by other members of their family and friends, Chou said.
“PTSD mainly causes an imbalance in the brain’s amygdala, which stores memories of frightening experiences. The amygdala of a person with PTSD becomes overactive,” he said.
Chou advised people whose partners have experienced violent or stressful treatment by other family members to seek professional help.
People often think that traumatic experiences can be “shrugged off,” Chou said, adding that if PTSD does not get treated, symptoms often get worse.
People who have overbearing parents-in-law should remove themselves from the situation, even if just temporarily, by for example returning to their family, he said, adding that people in such situations should protect their own privacy.
PTSD is usually treated with medication and psychological consultation, he said, adding that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is in some cases also a treatment option.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS