F.A.Q.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a mental health disorder that begins after a dangerous or frightening event. The traumatic event typically threatens or causes physical harm, leading to extreme emotional distress that triggers PTSD.
You can develop PTSD even if you don’t personally experience the trauma. Witnessing the event or learning that someone you know lived through the trauma is enough to give you PTSD.
The traumatic events that most often lead to PTSD include:
- Combat duty
- Gun violence
- Robbery
- Severe accident
- Sexual or physical assault
- Natural or man-made disaster
- Death of a loved one
If your feelings of fear and anxiety don’t improve within a month after the traumatic event, chances are you should seek treatment for PTSD.
What symptoms occur if I have PTSD?
PTSD causes anxiety and other symptoms that interfere with your daily life. You may:
- Have flashbacks about the event
- Have nightmares about the trauma
- Feel angry and irritable
- Be easily startled
- Become hypervigilant
- Behave recklessly
- Have insomnia
- Blame yourself for the trauma
- Avoid people and places that remind you of the trauma
Your flashbacks may be so vivid that it feels like you’re reliving the traumatic event. By comparison, you could also forget the details surrounding the event. Many people try to avoid discussing or even thinking about the trauma.
What are PTSD triggers?
After a traumatic event, your brain connects specific details to the trauma and stores them in your memory. These details — certain thoughts, sounds, smells, feelings, and places, to name a few — become triggers.
When you encounter a trigger, you experience an uncontrollable surge of PTSD symptoms. Then you have many possible emotional and behavioral reactions.
You may suddenly feel overwhelmed by strong emotions such as anger, rage, fear, or sadness. In many cases, a PTSD trigger compels you to act. For example, you may feel the need to isolate yourself or become pushy or aggressive, even though you don’t normally behave that way.
How is PTSD treated?
Your provider may prescribe medications to ease specific symptoms and conditions caused by PTSD, such as anger and depression. Beyond medication, psychotherapy is the primary treatment.
Several types of cognitive-behavioral therapy are especially effective for helping people overcome PTSD. Addiction and Psychiatric Care chooses the psychotherapy that fits your personal needs.
Once you develop PTSD, the condition won’t improve without treatment. To schedule an appointment, call Addiction and Psychiatric Care or use the online booking feature today.