A lot of mental health diagnoses are thrown around, especially those with acronyms, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, there is so much stigma surrounding mental health that a lot of people will talk about these diagnoses without actually knowing much about them.
What is PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health diagnosis for what happens when someone experiences one or more highly traumatic events in their life and gets psychologically stuck. The body stays in the fight or flight mode all the time, and there are usually flashbacks or nightmares that occur long after the traumatic event occurred. Someone with PTSD lives in a constant state of fear or arousal, which often leads to other serious mental or physical health problems such as anxiety or depression. PTSD is what occurs when trauma is unresolved in your mind and body long-term and you are unable to move forward.
What are the Symptoms of PTSD?
Symptoms of PTSD vary by individual and circumstance, but most people have any number of the following symptoms:
- Flashbacks, recurring thoughts, or nightmares about the initial trauma
- Being triggered by sounds, smells, places, or people related to the trauma
- Avoidance of anything or anyone that reminds you of the initial event
- Difficulty with memory or concentration
- Lack of interest in things that previously brought joy
- Relationship problems
- Lack of trust in others
- Feeling numb or detached
- Self-isolation
- Always being on edge or easily startled
- Sleep disturbances
- Irritability and angry outbursts
- Feeling guilty for the trauma
- Self-destructive behaviors
- Negative thoughts, depression
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts
- Feeling constantly anxious or fearful
- Rapid heartbeat
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Nausea or stomach pains
How Do People Get PTSD?
PTSD occurs when someone witnesses or is a victim of an intensely traumatic experience, such as a natural disaster, an accident, violence, abuse, assault, or loss of a loved one. While those are the most common causes, PTSD can develop when someone is traumatized by anything in their life, like divorce, intense emotional events, and more. It is normal for it to take you some time to forget and heal when you are exposed to trauma. Typically, your mind and body will heal naturally, or you may receive therapy to help. However, when the trauma lasts a year or more, it can become PTSD.
Why Do People with PTSD Use Substances?
Many people with PTSD turn to substances to try to escape the horrors in their minds and bodies. However, self-medicating with drugs or alcohol leads to addiction more often than not. Many people with PTSD are diagnosed while receiving treatment for substance abuse. This is not a bad thing, because PTSD can be treated along with substance abuse to help create a lasting recovery.
How Can I Get Help for PTSD?
Because PTSD is a mental health diagnosis, you should see a psychiatrist to receive a diagnosis. Your doctor will recommend a treatment that is right for you, most often consisting of therapy. Many therapists have found success by using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is a type of talk therapy that helps you to reframe your thinking and take control of your life again. Another type of evidence-based therapy that is especially helpful with trauma and PTSD is EMDR.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a powerful type of therapy that uses your eyes or other sensory experiences like tapping while the therapist guides you through past traumatic events. Using the sensory experiences, EMDR allows the brain to process the trauma and re-wires the memories to help you feel safe around those memories instead of on edge and fearful. Rather than just talk therapy, your mind does the healing on its own and usually achieves this much more quickly than with talk therapies. This type of therapy requires specific training by the therapist, but has been found to be very effective in healing trauma and PTSD.
Can I Heal After a Life of Trauma?
If you have suffered from PTSD for any length of time after suffering one or more traumatic events, you can find healing. Even if you turn to substances and struggle with drug or alcohol addiction, you can be whole again. While you are in treatment for addiction, you can also seek therapy for your trauma or PTSD. Healing from PTSD typically removes the cause of the substance abuse, which allows you to heal from both. Healing from life after trauma is possible, you just need to make the call and start today.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? PTSD is a mental health diagnosis for unresolved trauma that gets “stuck” like a broken record player in your body. Flashbacks, images, and nightmares can haunt you day and night, and your body lives on edge at all times, in permanent fight or flight mode. People with PTSD often turn to substance use to self-medicate and develop an addiction to drugs or alcohol. At Promising Outlook, we know trauma is often the cause of substance abuse. We are here to help you heal from your trauma or PTSD and take control of your life after addiction. Call our Riverside, California center today at (951) 783-2487 to learn more about our treatment programs. We offer individual and group therapy and are especially conscientious of trauma. We want you to be free from your nightmares and free of addiction. If you have experienced some form of trauma, call us so we can help you heal.