PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder): FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Sometimes you experience a traumatic event that haunts you forever. And this can destroy your happiness and peace if you don’t seek help. Do you want to know more about PTSD? If yes, this article will tell you all that you need to know about PTSD and its treatment.
What is PTSD?
PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health disorder that develops when you experience a trauma, accident, disaster, or sexual assault. It can happen to anyone of any age, gender, or ethnicity.
What are the causes of PTSD?
Any event or experience which is traumatizing and shocking to you can leave you with PTSD, like:
- Sexual or physical assault
- Accident or death of a loved one
- Child abuse
- A natural disaster like a flood, tornado, fire, or earthquake.
- Terrorist attacks
- Military and combat experiences.
When these kinds of events happen, you cannot control your surroundings and are forced to stay in fear.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
There are 4 basic symptoms of PTSD:
- Reliving the traumatic event: Memories from that trauma can come back as flashbacks, or nightmares at any time at any place. Memories from the trauma come back when they get triggered by something or someone that you can link to the traumatic event. For example, you read news of accidents in the newspaper, which can bring back memories of your accident.
- Avoidance (of things and people that remind you of that event): You begin to avoid places, people, and things that remind you of that event. For example, someone attacks you in a park. So, you start avoiding going to parks or gardens.
- Having negative thoughts and feelings: You can feel or have negative, pessimistic thoughts and outlook towards everything after going through the trauma. You feel sad, and lonely, and don’t enjoy your favorite activities anymore. You don’t feel happy, glad, excited, or any positive emotions. You might feel shame or guilt.
- Feeling over the edge: You start to stay more careful around your surroundings and people. You have trouble sleeping and lack concentration/focus for work/study and are always on the lookout for danger. You get irritated or angry without any specific reason. You start taking drugs and drinking alcohol to deal with your anxiety.
Do you have symptoms of PTSD? Give us a call and get a free consultation on how to deal with PTSD. Call us on 718-DORAL-55.
Can PTSD affect your physical health?
Although PTSD affects your mental health, it can lead to physical problems like
- high blood pressure and heart rate.
- muscle tension.
- Nausea.
- Fatigue.
- Depression and anxiety.
- Eating disorders.
- joint pain.
- Headaches.
- back pain (or other unexplained aches and pain).
How to know if you have PTSD?
The only way to know whether you have it is to see a mental health professional or a psychotherapist. They might ask you questions about your trauma (like, how long it has been since the symptoms were first noticed, or any other problem you have, like an illness or disease). The doctor may run tests to diagnose PTSD (they check you on DSM-5 criteria).
What can you do?
After going through a traumatic event, it is normal to think, act, and behave differently. See a doctor or mental health care provider (like a physiatrist, psychologist, or mental health counselor) if you have these symptoms:
- Feel abnormal (anxious, depressed, aggressive) for months
- You get upset often
- Disruption of your daily routine (long after the trauma)
Treatment can help you deal with it so that you can lead a normal life once again.
What are the treatments for PTSD?
Treatment can be done with the help of medication and therapies or a combination of both.
- Therapies like Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy, or group therapy are quite effective.
- Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are used in medications for PTSD. Sometimes, it is used in combination with therapies to make them more effective.
PTSD makes it hard to live a normal life for you and your loved ones. But the good news is that it can be cured by therapies and medication.
Life can be happy again if you don’t have to deal with mental problems like PTSD. Our experts provide therapy & treatment that puts your mind at ease only in a few sessions. Want to live a normal life again? At Doral Health and Wellness, we have doctors that can help you manage your condition. For more information, you can visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11212, or call us at 1-347-384-5690. You can also visit our website at https://doralhw.org or contact us at info@doralhw.org if you have any queries.