How To Treat Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder

Posted on August 6th, 2009 by aileen

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Unexpected and traumatic events affect people in different ways. While some are able to handle these situations properly and eventually get over them, some don’t. There are people who may be unable to get their lives back in control.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) happens to an individual who experienced or witnessed a tormenting event and is unable to cope with the changes brought by the situation. Symptoms of this condition may be apparent within 3 months after the overwhelming experience, but there are cases where symptoms appear years after the event.

Here are some things you should know about this condition.

Events that may Lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Natural disasters
Violent Assault
Sexual, Physical and Psychological Abuse
Kidnapping
Accidents like a car crash

The Difference between PTSD and a Normal Reaction to a Traumatic Event

It’s acceptable to feel fear and anxiety after an overwhelming experience. Shock is normal as your mind and body try to cope with the unexpected event. After some time, you will eventually get over what happened and will be able to continue with your normal life.
A person with PTSD is unable to resume his normal life. He remains in a state of shock and relives the event over and over in his mind.

Symptoms

Symptoms of PTSD could either appear gradually or suddenly after a traumatic event. There are also instances where PTSD happens because a victim was reminded of his experience by another event, an image, a sound or a scent.

Three groups of symptoms of PTSD are:

Reliving the experience

Memories of the event.
Flashbacks
Nightmares
Severe physical responses when reminded of the event like fast breathing, sweating, rapid beating of the heart and nausea.
Great distress when remembering the event.

Avoidance

Selective amnesia happens when a victim can’t remember certain parts of what happened. He may also not remember the entire experience but remember what happened before and after the event.
Avoidance of activities and places that remind the victim of the accident.
Suppression is the conscious blocking of unwanted thoughts and feelings.
Repression is the unconscious blocking of thoughts and feelings about the event.
Anhedonia is the inability to gain pleasure from enjoyable events.
Derealization happens when a victim feels detached from his environment
Depersonalization happens when a victim feels detached from himself.

Hyperarousal

Insomnia
The victim is constantly alert and on guard.
Restlessness and irritability
Anger
Guilt and shame

Treatments

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) identifies unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and is aimed at replacing these beliefs and emotions with more acceptable ones.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) uses exposure therapy and rhythmic eye stimulations to process the victim’s memories of the traumatic events.
Exposure therapy provides the victim a venue for confronting his thoughts and learn acceptable coping mechanisms to deal with his problems.
Family Therapy aims to involve the whole family in the process of helping the victim deal with his overwhelming experience. This gives the victim a good set of support group.
Drug Therapy. Medications given for PTSD patients are usually those that treat underlying conditions like depression and anxiety. By relieving these conditions, the patient will be able to participate in the other therapies prepared by his doctor.

Complications

If PTSD is left undiagnosed and untreated, the victim may have the following psychological disorders:

Depression
Substance abuse
Eating disorders
Suicidal tendencies

When to Get Help

You may experience all the above symptoms after an overwhelming event, but that doesn’t mean you already have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To be diagnosed with PTSD, the symptoms should last longer than a month and should hinder you from performing your daily life activities.

It may be very hard to get over a traumatic event, but with appropriate coping strategies and a good support group, a traumatized individual will eventually be able to learn how to cope with his struggles.