Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental condition that results in a series of emotional and physical reactions in individuals who have either witnessed or experienced a traumatic event.
These events cause the individual to fear for personal life and wellbeing such as a car collision or other accident, a physical or sexual assault, long term abuse, torture, a natural disaster, living in a war zone, or life-altering experiences such as death of a loved one.
You don't have to try to handle the burden of PTSD on your own.
Treatment:
Treatment such as psychotherapy can help you regain a sense of control over your life. Treatment can help improve your symptoms by:
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Teaching you skills to address your symptoms
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Helping you think better about yourself, others and the world
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Learning ways to cope with symptoms if they arise again
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Help you develop stress management skills to better handle stressful situations and cope with stress in your life
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Treating other problems often related to the traumatic experiences, such as depression, anxiety, or misuse of alcohol or drugs Types of Psychotherapy used in PTSD treatment include:
Treatment Types:
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Cognitive therapy helps you recognize how your thought patterns keep you stuck. For example, negative beliefs about yourself and the risk of traumatic things happening again. Cognitive therapy is often used along with exposure therapy.
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Exposure therapy helps you safely face both situations and memories that you find frightening so that you can learn to cope with them effectively. Exposure therapy can be particularly helpful for flashbacks and nightmares.
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Individual and/or Group therapy can be used to treat PTSD. Group therapy is a way to connect with others going through similar experiences.