Overcoming the Pain of PTSD
If you’ve suffered trauma at some time in your past, you don’t want to think about it, relive it, or even acknowledge it. Perhaps you experienced something that was scary, stressful, or dangerous. You were worried about yourself or someone else. Your friends or family may tell you to “leave it in the past” or just to move on with life. That’s all you want to do, but it seems impossible.
Why Does PTSD Happen?
When a person experiences something that is shocking to them, such as the death of a
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a PTSD diagnosis requires that symptoms last more than a month and be significant enough to impact your daily life in some way, including work,
Why Can’t You Just Forget It?
If you feel you could be at risk for PTSD, you are not alone, and
When a traumatic event occurs, the brain enters flight or fight mode, focusing your body’s energy on the
Yet, in people with PTSD, something gets stuck. After the event occurs, the brain remains in that flight or fight mode for too long. The increased presence of cortisol and norepinephrine, the chemicals in your brain that control that flight or fight mechanism, impact the functionality of the brain. Studies indicate that these excess hormones make even small stressors seem overwhelming. Because memory is also affected,
How Do You Get Through It?
For those with PTSD, flashbacks, intense and unrealistic fear, and intense emotion are just some of the outward symptoms they may experience. Fortunately, PTSD is treatable. While you can’t simply eliminate past trauma, you can learn to control PTSD symptoms, allowing you to move beyond the pain.
If you’ve suffered a traumatic event at some point in your life, and it continues to be a presence in your day-to-day life, professional
- Cognitive processing therapy
- Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Prolonged exposure therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Group therapy
These types of therapy have different ways of teaching your brain how to work properly without overreacting to stress.
Some people also benefit from medications like antidepressants. Medications may relieve enough of the stress that you’re able to open up and work more deeply with your therapist.
It’s quite common for those with PTSD to use substances to help them control their feelings, thoughts, and other symptoms. Yet, this only worsens the brain’s ability to function normally. For those who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction as well as PTSD, it’s essential to treat both conditions at the same time.
How Can We Help You?
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