Day: February 28, 2022

How to Tell if You Have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Mark Porter

It is typical of anyone to experience fear, anger, and guilt after going through or witnessing a traumatic event. You may take some time to adjust or cope with these symptoms, but with time, you get better. However, this is usually not the case for everyone because the symptoms may worsen, last longer, and get in the way of your daily activities. The symptoms of PTSD in New York may show up within a month after a terrifying event or may sometimes take years. Treatment is essential for your general well-being and to improve function.

Symptoms for post-traumatic stress disorder

The symptoms of PTSD fall under four different categories, and they vary from person to person. They include:

Intrusion

It involves:

  • Involuntary or unwanted memories. Such memories pop up out of the blue and may disrupt your entire day.
  • Flashbacks. You can also have flashbacks where you replay or relieve previous events, and they are usually very vivid.
  • Physical reactions. They include running or fighting when something or someone reminds you of the traumatic event.

Avoidance

You may find that you distance yourself or avoid places, people, objects, activities, and situations that remind you or trigger memories of what happened. Avoidance can negatively affect your social life since it may interfere with your relationships. For example, if the traumatic event involved your family members or close friends, creating that distance or avoiding them can ruin your relationships. Other people avoid thinking about the event and may also not talk about what happened or express their feelings towards the occurrence.

Negative moods and thoughts

  • You may develop a negative view of other people and the world and feel hopeless about the future.
  • Ongoing distorted beliefs about yourself, such as being a bad person, may also present themselves.
  • Mistrust in everyone and falsely accuse or blame yourself or others for the traumatic event.
  • You become less interested and withdraw from activities you once enjoyed, and you may feel detached from people.
  • Inability to remember important details or aspects of the traumatic event.
  • Difficulty forming and maintaining close relationships.

Alterations in physical and emotional reactions

If you have PTSD, you may:

  • Engage in self-destructive behavior such as speeding and consuming a lot of alcohol.
  • Get easily frightened or startled.
  • Aggressive behavior.
  • Difficulty sleeping and concentrating.
  • Extreme feelings of shame or guilt.

How can I prevent PTSD?

While you may not entirely avoid traumatic events from happening, you can prevent normal stress reactions from worsening. After witnessing or going through a horrifying happening, most people experience PTSD-like symptoms such as anger and fear. Most people get better with time, but others get mental disorders, including PTSD. Fortunately, there are several approaches you can take to prevent these symptoms from worsening. The following are examples of healthy coping mechanisms that you can employ.

  • Consider scheduling a session with a professional for therapy to let out your emotions.
  • Turn to close friends and family for support and comfort.
  • Reach out to your faith community

If you have the above post-traumatic symptoms, schedule a session with your doctor at Ketaesthetic for treatment to better your mental health.

Gold And Silver Coins Vs. Bars: Which One Is The Best? 

Laura Mosely

The most common question that gold investors ask is whether they should buy coins or bars. The important thing that any potential needs to understand about gold is that the melt value remains the same irrespective of the form of gold being bought or sold. Simply put, an ounce of gold is an ounce of gold across the board. To make a good decision from the outset you need to understand what the advantages of either coins or bars are: 

Gold and silver bullion coins are usually minted by government mints. These coins are legal tender this means that in addition to their intrinsic value, there is a value assigned to them by the government. This legal tender value is always going to be lower than the intrinsic value of these gold coins which depends on the fluctuating market price for gold. Gold coins always have the potential to appreciate especially when the demand for these coins outstrips the supply. This is often true for numismatic or collector’s gold coins. These have more value when there is a strong demand for a specific coin. 

Coins are often more expensive to buy than gold bars. There is a higher premium value attached to gold and silver bullion coins because of the added cost of having government branding. Basically, gold bullion starts off as a blank gold piece with a purity of 99.99%. It is sent to a mint like the Perth Mint or the United States Mint or Royal Canadian Mint or any other government mint. The premium on gold bullion coins is high because of the intricate and unique designs that are imprinted on the surface but one has to account for the fact that government mints also add their own surcharge for stamping coins. 

Let’s look at gold bars…

Gold and silver bullion bars aren’t commissioned by governments. The price of gold bars is less than that of coins which means there is a greater difference in profits that can be generated when they are resold to gold dealers. Investors who are looking to maximize the value of what they invest in will find bars to be more efficient. 

Investors often worry about the bulky nature of gold bars. They are concerned a lot with the trading in small increments. This is where most people defer to coins rather than bars. Moreover, when there is some sort of imminent financial crisis it is easier to sell coins. They are smaller, portable and you could simply slip them in your wallet. Investors who insist on buying gold bullion bars do so to ensure that the profits will be higher when they decide to sell because less money was paid for the bullion. Keep in mind that smaller bars cost more than larger bars. This is because the production costs of smaller bars are higher than that of bigger gold bullion bars. 

The bottom line is that whether you decide to trade in gold coins or gold bars, you will need to consult with gold dealers to get the best possible returns on your investment. The intrinsic value of precious metals like gold or silver doesn’t particularly change with form. To have a truly diverse portfolio and ensure some financial security, it is a good idea to invest in both forms.