Getting Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 

Our bodies are designed and function in an amazing way. They help us to adapt to a wide range of situations and experiences, and we can operate even under hostile conditions. This means that we are quite resilient and can cope with enormous pressures. However, being resilient is not the same thing as being invincible. Our bodies and minds do take strain and can be overwhelmed in their ability to cope well.

Many life circumstances can affect a person’s well-being, and some of these can significantly diminish a person’s enjoyment of life. Not only that, but their ability to perform daily functions can be significantly hampered by these experiences. One way that this happens is the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

It may not be a given in every situation, but after a person has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event, they could find themselves struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after a deeply threatening or scary event. Even if you didn’t directly experience it, the shock of what happened can make it hard for you to continue living a normal life.

PTSD is a mental health condition that can affect a person’s mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being, and if it is severe enough, it can interfere with their ability to function well in daily life. PTSD can affect anyone, regardless of their age, gender, or cultural background. The good news is that it can be treated with psychotherapy and medications.

It is not always the case that when a person experiences a traumatic event, they will develop PTSD. Experiencing war, a natural disaster, a motor vehicle accident, terrorism, violent crime, or other similar events may lead to PTSD, but it is far from definite. Factors such as whether you have a support system and your ability to cope with trauma all play a role in whether PTSD develops after a traumatic event or not.

The signs of post-traumatic stress disorder include severe anxiety, insomnia, flashbacks, nightmares, and low self-esteem, to name a few. One may struggle with invasive and uncontrollable thoughts, constantly reliving the event, or they may feel emotionally or physically numb and lose the memory altogether. Some resort to using alcohol or drugs, or indulge in behavior that could be considered reckless or self-destructive, to avoid the memories.

How PTSD Can Affect You

When PTSD is a reality in your life, it can affect you in several ways. The symptoms of PTSD are unpleasant, and often a person may begin avoiding the people, activities, or places that remind them of the traumatic event or that cause symptoms. This can affect your social life, work, and limit your movements and interactions.

Struggling to sleep affects your energy levels, and it can also affect your ability to regulate your emotions. This could lead to being emotionally reactive, something that can make relationships challenging.

The various emotional, cognitive, and behavioral effects of PTSD will mean it’s difficult to concentrate and complete tasks, there can be a loss of interest in activities, and one may feel more disconnected from the world around them.

What this can add up to is that relationally, mentally, emotionally, and physically, you may not be flourishing and at your best.

Therapies Available for PTSD

If you or a loved one is unable to move on in a short time after experiencing a stressful event, or you are struggling to function in areas of your normal life, it may be time to consider therapy. There are three main goals in PTSD therapy: to improve your symptoms, to teach you skills to deal with PTSD, and to restore your self-esteem.

Psychotherapy offers a wide range of different kinds of therapy that are helpful in various cases of PTSD. These include brainspotting, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy.

Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a newer form of trauma therapy that allows you to integrate the brain and body as you process what you have experienced. By incorporating bilateral music, the experience and where it is located in your body, a fixed eye location, is found to allow for deeper understanding and allow the brain to process and release the experience and symptoms associated. The process can be accomplished with or without talking to your therapist and can be done in an individual, couples, or group setting.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

With Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the approach allows you to watch or listen to something that your therapist is doing while you concentrate on your experience. This might be moving a hand, flashing a light, or making a sound. The goal is to enable you to have more positive associations while remembering your trauma.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

In Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), you will begin by talking through the traumatic event with your therapist, as well as talking about how your thoughts related to this event have affected your life. Writing in detail about what happened will help you to process the experience, come to deeper insights into your trauma, and begin working out new ways to live with the reality of the experience.

For example, if you have been struggling with feelings of guilt over a traumatic event, your therapist will then help you consider all the aspects of what happened, and particularly the ones that were out of your control, to help you move forward and accept that you are not truly to blame.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Prolonged Exposure Therapy is a form of therapy that aims, over time, to help you deal with symptoms like avoiding the things or places that remind you of the traumatic event. In the early stages of your treatment, your therapist will help you learn some breathing techniques to ease your anxiety when you think of the event.

Later, you will make a list of the things that you have been avoiding because they trigger an emotional reaction in you, and then you will learn how to face them, one by one. It may also be helpful to recount your experience to the therapist and then listen to a recording of yourself at home. Doing this over time may help to ease your symptoms.

Medication and Therapy for PTSD

While some people may find therapy sufficient in dealing with their PTSD, others may need some form of medication to help them manage some of the symptoms associated with PTSD.

People with PTSD may process threats differently because the balance of chemicals called neurotransmitters is off. Their fight-or-flight response is easily activated, making them jumpy and on edge.

Medications can help you moderate some of your reactions, including helping with nightmares and flashbacks. They can also help you feel more like yourself and enable you to have a more positive outlook on life.

Some types of medications affect the neurochemicals in your brain that relate to fear and anxiety. Doctors may start with drugs that affect the neurotransmitters serotonin or norepinephrine (SSRIs and SNRIs).

People respond differently to medications, and not everyone’s PTSD is the same; because of this, you may be prescribed other medications too if your doctor sees a reason to prescribe them.

Medications can also help you with specific symptoms or related issues, such as insomnia. Which medications will work best for you depends in part on your symptoms and the side effects of the medication, and whether you have other conditions like anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder, or problems with substance abuse. While therapists cannot prescribe medications, we can help to guide you to a prescribing physician if necessary.

It may take some time to find the best combination or dosage of certain medications. And some may require regular monitoring by your doctor. Medications alone probably won’t get rid of your symptoms, but they can help make the symptoms less intense and easier to manage as you are working through it in therapy.

If PTSD is affecting you or someone you love, reach out for help. Our office can connect you to a Christian therapist near you who is trained to help you overcome symptoms of PTSD. Contact our office today to learn more about how we can help.