Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Have you experienced a traumatic event? Are you suffering from lingering fear and anxiety? Do you feel like you no longer have any control over how you think, feel, and behave?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - also known as PTSD - is a mental health challenge that may occur in individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a terrorist act, an act of war, a serious accident, rape, or any other violent personal assault.
It is believed that PTSD affects nearly four percent of the U.S. adult population. While it is usually linked with Veterans who’ve experienced combat, PTSD can occur in all people regardless of age, race, nationality, or culture. In fact, women are twice as likely to experience PTSD than men.
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
People with PTSD often experience intense thoughts and feelings related to their traumatic experiences. These can last for a long time after the initial event. Many people with PTSD also relive the event through flashbacks and nightmares.
People with PTSD often feel intense emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and detachment from friends, family, and community members. They often avoid people and situations that remind them of the traumatic event. Ordinary sounds or incidents such as a door banging or accidental touch in a crowd may cause a strong and uncontrollable reaction.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a form of talk therapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related to one another. The goal of a CBT Therapist in treating a client with PTSD is to help the client return to a place of hope with a greater sense of being in control of their thoughts and behaviors.
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a technique uses bilateral sensory input such as side-to-side eye movements to stimulate the brain to process difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
CPT is modality focuses on how a person perceives a traumatic event and processes it. A therapist can help their client work through stuck points, which are certain thoughts related to the trauma that prevents the person from recovering.