PTSD

What is PTSD?

PTSD is a mental health disorder that occurs after you experience a dangerous event or severe mental or emotional stress. You can develop PTSD whether you directly experience the trauma, witness it, or learn it happened to a close friend or family member.

Traumatic events that often cause PTSD include:

• Military duty
• Physical assault
• Sexual assault
• Emotional or physical abuse
• Death of a loved one
• Serious illness
• Gun violence
• Robberies
• Accidents (e.g., automobile, plane, and train)
• Natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes)

Complex PTSD (CPTSD) develops when you experience a series of traumatic events. For example, you may live with ongoing abuse for years or have several military deployments to dangerous locations.

What symptoms does PTSD cause?

Everyone feels fear and anxiety after a traumatic event, but their feelings gradually improve. When your symptoms last a month or longer or get worse, you may have PTSD.

People with PTSD may:

• Have nightmares
• Experience flashbacks
• Feel angry and irritable
• Feel guilty or ashamed
• Develop insomnia
• Become depressed
• Have a hard time concentrating
• Withdraw from friends and family
• Take on responsibility for the trauma
• Avoid people and places that remind them of the trauma

PTSD can develop in people of all ages. When CPTSD begins in childhood, it can affect self-esteem, overall development, and the ability to trust people.

Why do PTSD symptoms suddenly flare up?

During the trauma, your brain records details like smells, sounds, and sights. You’re not aware of these details because they’re tucked into your subconscious.

When you come across one of those details in the course of daily life, they connect with your subconscious and bring a vivid memory of the trauma back into your awareness. As a result, you suddenly have intense emotions and behaviors.

How is PTSD treated?

Therapy is the primary treatment for PTSD. Though your Just Psych, LLC, provider may prescribe medications to ease certain symptoms, like anger and sadness, there currently aren’t medications for treating PTSD.

During therapy, you may identify PTSD triggers or learn ways to reclaim the areas of your life affected by PTSD. Depending on your personal needs, you may benefit from therapy that revisits the trauma and helps you work through your emotions and understand your experience. 

You can move beyond the trauma with treatment that considers a psychiatric and psychological perspective at Just Psych, LLC. Call the office or book online today to start your journey toward healing.