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Primary Research

Survey and Interviews

Conducting the Survey

I went to different social media platforms that I go on regularly to spread the survey and ask for help from my followers on my art account and friends on my personal account.

I also created a reddit account as the reach there is wider and there are dedicated forums for people to just share surveys like r/takemysurvey and r/SurveyExchange.

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Data Analysis

  • The majority of the responses are in the primary target audience. 

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  • ​About 21% of the responses are within the secondary target audience.

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  • The majority of responses are from the female gender. (59.6%​)

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  • This will help with gaining information on the likelihood for women to develop PTSD compared to men. 

  • ​​​This shows that most people are willing to accept their experience was indeed a traumatic one.

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  • The majority chose Childhood/ Relationship trauma, which could mean that this type of trauma is most common. (73.9%)​​

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  • The second most chosen is Physical or Sexual assault. (30.4%)

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  • This tells us that this type of trauma is also common. 

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  • This correlates with the research on women being more likely to develop PTSD due to sexual assault happening often.

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  • ​The most common answer is number 7 at 24.4%. It seems most people consider their trauma to be traumatic. 

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  • Second highest is number 8, which is a higher value. It is at 22.2%. 

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  • Most people are willing to accept the fact that the event they experienced is a traumatic event.

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  • Most people negatively view their trauma and see it as a horrible experience. 

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  • Downplaying trauma is uncommon.

  • ​Comparing the responders' symptoms with the CAPS scale.

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  • There are a high number of responders exhibiting common PTSD symptoms.

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  • The two highest responses are "sometimes" and "rarely". 

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  • This symptom does not show as often in PTSD sufferers. 

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  • Therefore it could be more decisive in concluding if PTSD is present in a person.

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  • This symptom seems common in PTSD sufferers. 

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  • Hyperactivity can be caused by many other mental health conditions, which could be why.

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  • ​The majority of responders say "somewhat familiar" (53.6%)  

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  • Meaning most people know the general gist of it, but not in depth knowledge.

  • Most people, after experiencing a traumatic event do not develop PTSD.

  • But many people have also been affected negatively and may be experiencing PTSD.

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If yes, please describe your experience. 

Responder 6 (F):

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"My mother has PTSD from childhood and sometimes has blackouts where she has very emotional reactions. I’ve experienced this behavior from her maybe 4 or 5 times but over the course of my life (16 years.) during these episodes she gets triggered in some way and then screams and cries for hours. She has to take off of work the day after these events because her voice is so strained. She blacks out these episodes and genuinely does not have control over her emotions. Experiencing this especially from my mother to me, is very traumatic and I often fear these episodes will occur and I get very anxious when an event that she views as negative occurs because I fear she will have an episode."

Chose "No" when considering PTSD treatment.

"I don’t think I actually have ptsd just trauma."

Responder 22 (M):

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"Car accident."

Chose "No" when considering PTSD treatment.

Rated 10 for extremely traumatic event.

"Maybe thought it not significant enough?"

Responder 35 (M):

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"Sometimes randomly, the air will just smell like the smoke that was in the hallway when the event happened. Even if I’m at home, or in a place that has no smoking. But it smells exactly like I remember it."

Chose "No" when considering PTSD treatment.

"It never made me panic that much before. Usually there would be the initial shock, and then I would realize nothing is happening."

Chose "No" when considering PTSD treatment.

Responder 39 (F):

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"there were times i would often think back about the incidents that left a lasting impact on me and it has made me very wary of certain types of people. i would also be anxious and experience relapses or panic attacks if i ran into similar situations that reminded me of past experiences"

"it felt as though it wasn’t serious enough to seek treatment"

Responder 43 (F):

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"After a fire at home, I became very sensitive to sounds and burning smells. Even the slightest unusual noise or smell would wake me up, and I had trouble sleeping, staying in a highly sensitive state for over six months. I also developed an obsessive fear that all electrical devices might catch fire and paid close attention to wire management."

Chose "No" when considering PTSD treatment.

"I thought the fear of fire was something that could be overcome. Since firefighters and other professionals always deal with such situations, I felt there was no reason why I couldn’t overcome the fear just because of one fire incident."

Conclusion:

Whether or not they have PTSD, it seems they have experienced PTSD symptoms.  E.g. Hypervigilance, exaggerated startle responses and anxiety. Some have smell hallucinations and panic.

  • This tells us that people are more likely to be reluctant to seek treatment.

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  • The consensus is that symptoms must last at least a few weeks or months for someone to consider treatment.

  • This may be because symptoms could take a while to arise.

  • There is a need to educate people as some people are still unsure.

  • Despite most people believing that treatment is effective, most people still wouldn't consider it.

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  • This shows that most people have the knowledge that you should seek treatment when it interferes with daily life.

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  • As PTSD is an impairing disorder, this correlates.

Survey Conclusion

  1. The main reasons many deny treatment are that they can handle it, it’s not serious, or they don’t have PTSD.

  2. Though most view treatment positively, people generally avoid seeking it.

  3. People acknowledge trauma but often deny having PTSD, intimidated by it.

Interviews

With much appreciation, I managed to interview two medical professionals who have better insight into PTSD and how it works or how it could be caused.

 

Below are the recorded interviews for listening and PDF consent forms.

 

They provided more information into:

  • How PTSD could be recognised, whether by professionals or the general public. 

  • Whether and how it could go unrecognised.

  • The reasoning for why it is common for PTSD treatments to be stopped halfway through.

  • Stigmas associated with PTSD.

  • Whether much has been done to raise awareness for PTSD for the general public.

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Ms Daphne Toh

Provisional Counsellor

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Currently working at Mind What Matters.

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Dr Geraldine Tan

Director / Principal Registered Psychologist

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Currently working at The Therapy Room.

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Interview Summary

How can someone recognize PTSD symptoms, whether for themselves or others?

  1. An event needs to happen to trigger a strong emotional reaction.

  2. Need to have prior knowledge of PTSD to be able to reflect on how they reacted.

  3. Any symptom that makes them feel they aren't in their normal state would be noticed.

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How are professionals able to identify when someone has PTSD?

  • The triangle: Anxiety/ Hypervigilance/ Avoidance.

  • Therapists have some assessments they can deploy to find out.

  • ​​They can just ask them to tell them about their experience or trauma.

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Are there people who may have PTSD but do not recognise it?

  • Lots of people.

  • Many red flags seem normal. e.g. drinking could be a manifestation of their PTSD.

  • ​They feel that everyone is going through it, so they may be unable to recognise it.

Have some clients denied they have PTSD or refuse treatment? Why/why not?

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  • Clients may initially resist. As therapists help process their trauma, they may begin to realise they haven't gotten over it.

  • If the client fully resists, it must be respected as therapy requires trust.

Do people quit PTSD treatment halfway often? And if so why/why not?

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  • Yes. Clients may not be ready to confront their trauma. 

  • They either don’t want to face it anymore or are in denial. 

  • ​Therapists could inadvertently retrigger them, making them no longer feel safe. 

  • They've reached an awareness where they can help themself.

Avoidance symptom

What type of incidents can constitute as traumatic enough to cause PTSD?

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  • Incidents that leave a lasting negative impact, making it harder to function in daily life.

  • Any experience that they are unable to process or understand, they lock up their emotions.

Are there any stigmas associated with PTSD?

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  • Not really.

  • The symptoms associated with PTSD, like anxiety/ depression or binge drinking, yes.

  • Mental wellness itself has its stigma, and PTSD falls under it.

  • By association, it might have some stigma.

What has been done to raise awareness of PTSD?  

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  • Nothing much. 

  • ​People with trauma feel a lot of shame, so it must be done cautiously.

  • Even in mental health care, not everyone provides trauma-informed care.

  • Mental health campaigns open the door towards PTSD.

How can the general public know and understand more about PTSD?

  • Movies and shows that talk about it. Help to introduce the idea of PTSD.

  • Nonjudgment, curiosity, empathy and compassion.

  • Don’t judge when someone is experiencing symptoms.

  • Don’t accept bad behaviour, but understand it.

Interview Conclusion

  1. There is very little that has been done to educate the general public on PTSD. So there is a need for the project.

  2. More people need prior knowledge of PTSD. Otherwise, it is more difficult to tell if you need help.

  3. ​The three main groups that PTSD symptoms fall under are anxiety, hypervigilance and avoidance symptoms.

  4. When symptoms affect daily function, PTSD treatment should be sought out.

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