Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is categorised under anxiety disorder. When an individual witnesses or experiences a terrifying event or great trauma (e.g. severe accident, threats to personal safety), she might consequently experience a sense of insecurity or distraught. Instead of an immediate sense of insecurity or intense emotions, the individual might first undergo emotional numbness, symptoms might come afterwards in forms of re-experiencing, avoidance, physical or cognitive and psychological symptoms, e.g. intrusive memories, not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event, or irritability.

As for sex workers, fellow sisters often worry over the police’s undercover operation, revelation of own identity, being discovered by families and friends, encountering uncooperative clients, being forced to have sexual intercourse, etc. These situations result in trauma physically and mentally, which may lead to PTSD. Although workplaces might vary everyday, the risks remain the same, and repeatedly working under these concerns would only make fellow sisters experience the traumatic episode repeatedly.

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Major symptoms:

• An individual may have their traumatic experiences involuntarily triggered by words, objects or environment. These memories are usually temporary and that the individual is also aware that they are memories instead of reality. However, sometimes the individual may experience flashbacks, in which she might feel that she has returned to the occasion of the traumatic event, which adversely impact the individual’s mental health and result in other symptoms, e.g. having a nightmare of the traumatic event.
• An individual might be easily irritated, e.g. easily frightened, constantly nervous or have trouble sleeping. Unlike the flashbacks, these symptoms take place continually, which put the individual under prolonged stress and agitation. She/ he may have trouble sleeping with the fear that traumatic episodes might also appear in their dreams.
• Avoidance is also commonly seen, where the individual would avoid all the conditions that might possibly trigger her/ his traumatic experience. For example, an individual might be afraid of driving or taking vehicles after experiencing severe traffic accidents. Also, some individuals may deny the experience in hopes of avoiding the trigger of symptoms by recalling the incident. For example, they might become emotionally numb, lose interest in their daily life, stay away from friends and isolate themselves. In more serious cases some individuals may lose the memory of the traumatic event so as to reduce the emotional pain.