What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
PTSD is a disorder that develops after exposure to traumatic events such as an accidents, personal/physical assault, military combat, or natural disasters. Such events can leave emotional scars that damage a person’s mental health. It is natural to feel afraid during and after traumatic situations, and most people recover from the effects of the event on their own. Some people, however, continue to feel high levels of stress and fear even when they are safe from harm, sometimes long after the initial trauma occurred. This can lead to a diagnosis of PTSD.
Symptoms
To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must have experienced all of the following for at least one month:
- At least one re-experiencing symptom, such as recurring, intrusive, or distressing memories/thoughts, flashbacks of the trauma, or bad dreams. This can also include the physical signs associated with fear/stress.
- At least one avoidance symptom, such as avoiding certain places, people, or objects that are reminders of the trauma.
- At least two arousal and reactivity symptoms, such as hypervigilance. Examples might include being startled by stimuli (e.g. sounds) that resemble the trauma, insomnia, or extreme emotional outbursts.
- At least two cognition and mood symptoms, such as trouble recalling the event or negative or self-injurious thoughts. A person may also feel numb, guilty, worried, or depressed. Cognitive symptoms can in some instances extend to include out-of-body experiences or derealization.
Sanctuary Centers Treats Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Sanctuary Centers offers many treatment approaches to PTSD. Treatments can include trauma-focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), cognitive restructuring and cognitive processing therapy, exposure-based therapies, psychoeducation, group and individual therapies, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), all of which have shown real, measurable results in the treatment of PTSD.