Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

Have you been struggling with feelings of anxiety? Have you been re-experiencing events, or are fighting back against unwanted, intrusive thoughts ever since you were young? Did an event – the loss of a loved one, or even watching someone close to you struggle with trauma – have you feeling off-balance for several weeks, months, or even years now? Then you may be experiencing the signs and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Amend Treatment offers several treatment modalities and therapies to help you manage and reduce the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

We can help you build the tools needed to better deal with stressors in life, and overcome past traumas through thorough long-term PTSD treatment, utilizing research-based modalities such as EMDR and somatic experiencing.

Work with us to regain control over your life and your thoughts. Give us a call at (833) 912-6363, to learn more about our methods and therapeutic plans for post traumatic stress disorder treatment.

Overview

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most commonly diagnosed trauma disorder, and one of the most well-known mental health conditions, yet few people know how prevalent it can be. While PTSD is known to develop in survivors of war and violence, it can develop as a result of any traumatic event, and even through secondary trauma.

Research tells us that about 7 or 8 out of 100 people will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. Women are more likely to develop and experience symptoms of PTSD than men. Genes also play a role – some people are more likely to struggle with PTSD than others. Knowing your family history can help you determine your personal risk for PTSD.

PTSD is not to be confused with a natural fight-or-flight reaction. It is normal to react differently to certain triggers after a significant event. It is also certainly normal to feel fear or panic in moments of danger. These emotions and reactions are usually involuntary, and part of the body and mind’s own defense mechanisms.

But when a person struggles with PTSD, these defense mechanisms may have been overloaded significantly, to the point that they continue to affect a person’s experiences, thoughts, memories, mood, and cognition for weeks, months, and even years to come. People with PTSD may be more anxious than they were before and may feel stressed or even frightened when there is no danger around.

Symptoms

PTSD is characterized by the prevalence of specific symptoms, categorized into symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance, reactivity, and cognitive symptoms.

Re-Experiencing Symptoms

• • Nightmares and recurring dreams.
  • Intrusive thoughts and unwanted, taboo, or frightening lines of thinking.
  • Reliving the trauma at random points in the day – including panic attacks, hyperventilation, random sweating, and feelings of dread.
  • Responding strongly to reminders and triggers for a traumatic event.

Avoidance Symptoms

• • Avoiding everything related to the event – people, places, thoughts, even feelings.
  • Purposefully going out of your way to avoid the site of a traumatic event, or avoid its triggers (no longer riding elevators, avoiding cars, etc.)
  • Making sweeping lifestyle changes to avoid potential triggers, including moving someplace else.

Reactivity or Arousal Symptoms

• • Being incredibly jumpy, much more likely to scare.
  • Constantly tense and easily fatigued as a result.
  • Uncontrollable irritation, sudden outbursts over relatively small issues.
  • Much lower threshold for anxiety than before.

Cognitive or Mood Symptoms

• • Inability to manage mood.
  • Loss of interest in old hobbies, loss of joy.
  • Trouble remembering key elements of the trauma, misremembering things.
  • Difficulty retaining information.
  • Lowered focus and inability to concentrate as well as before.
  • Inexplicable feelings of overwhelming guilt or shame, at random times.

Signs and symptoms from all four categories must be present for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD. In other words, having nightmares or flashbacks to a traumatic event without other PTSD symptoms does not necessarily mean you are struggling with PTSD. What sets PTSD apart is how these individual symptoms can negatively affect a person’s mental resilience and ability to cope with day-to-day stressors, as well as signs of significant impairment in life.

PTSD can develop over time, and as a rule, does not occur immediately after a traumatic event. However, you do not need to wait to be diagnosed to seek professional help for your anxious thoughts and nightmares. It’s always better to find someone to talk to or seek out PTSD treatment than to ignore these signs and hope that they might go away.

 

Causes

PTSD is triggered by a traumatic event, which can differ from case to case. No form of trauma will guarantee PTSD, and the magnitude of a person’s symptoms might not correspond to the severity or type of trauma they experienced. Sometimes, PTSD can be caused by accumulative stress, or chronically stressful events, rather than a single key event – for example, developing PTSD as a result of several hospital stints and medical trauma, rather than one massively traumatic event.

Trauma can come in all shapes and forms. Some examples of traumatic events include:

• Getting hurt, or watching others get hurt.
• Abuse at home, especially among children.
• Living through a frightening or dangerous situation, such as a home invasion, car accident, or natural disaster.
• Feeling helpless, such as when a loved one dies suddenly or as a result of a terminal illness.
• Lack of social support and comfort during or after a traumatic event can make PTSD more likely.
• Certain co-dependent mental health issues and risk factors raise the risk of PTSD, including a history of anxiety disorders, depression, and substance use issues.

 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

Although there is no medication or cure for PTSD, there are post traumatic stress disorder treatment methods that help people reduce symptoms, and manage their PTSD to bring it to a controllable level.

Many PTSD symptoms are made worse by an overactive fight-or-flight response – therapeutic methods that aim to resolve trauma, improve mental resilience through exposure, or help improve a person’s capacity to relax and resolve anxious thoughts can lead to long-term results in improving PTSD symptoms.

It can take time for symptoms of PTSD to be resolved, and clients should not expect immediate progress. However, getting started sooner rather than later can give you a better shot at regaining control over your life. Call Amend Treatment at (833) 912-6363, and get started today.