What are the symptoms of PTSD and could you be suffering from them?

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What are the symptoms of PTSD and could you be suffering from them?

The universe has brought the concept of trauma and PTSD on my path a great deal lately so it leads me to write about it.  I work with addictions, depression, anxiety and many other symptoms and the underlying connection that they most frequently have is trauma.  There are many types of trauma and what is traumatic to one person may not be to another but this does not discredit the pain it is causing in the one suffering.  I get asked often what PTSD is.  Clients tell me frequently that they have been diagnosed with PTSD but when I ask them to explain it they can’t.  They have not been taught and made aware of what that means for them in their experience.  I want to take this post today and define symptoms of PTSD as well as some common treatments.  It does not have to be a life sentence, there is help out there.  Find it.

A wide variety of symptoms may be signs you are experiencing PTSD:

  • Feeling upset by things that remind you of what happened

  • Having nightmares, vivid memories, or flashbacks of the event that make you feel like it’s happening all over again

  • Feeling emotionally cut off from others

  • Feeling numb or no interest in things you used to care about and feeling depressed

  • Thinking that you are always in danger

  • Feeling increased anxiety, jittery, or irritated

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Feeling disconnected from friends and family

  • Ultra aware of and sensitive to sounds and unexpected noise

  • Experiencing a sense of panic that something bad is about to happen

Still not sure this applies to you?  Click here for a screening.

How to deal with the symptoms of PTSD?\

Thankfully there are places you can turn for help.  There are a number of evidence based treatments for trauma and PTSD and you can work with your doctor or therapist to find the right treatment for you.  

·         Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talk therapy that is often used in conjunction with medications to encourage you to remember the event and express your feelings about it. This can help desensitize you to the trauma and reduce your symptoms. You can learn to be aware of your thought processes and begin to make changes to them

·         Support in the form of a therapy support group or any other group you feel comfortable with where you can discuss your feelings with other PTSD sufferers. This will help you realize that your symptoms are not unusual and that you are not alone.

·         EMDR  (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.  Repeated studies show that by using EMDR people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. 

·         Trauma Sensitive Yoga Therapy

·         Mindfulness is simply paying attention to and awareness of the present moment, and nonjudgmental acceptance of whatever you are experiencing. Regular mindfulness practice can lead to a greater here and now-centered awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance of potentially distressing cognitive and emotional states as well as trauma-related internal and external triggers

·         Self-care - Self-care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, prevent and deal with illness.  It is vital to anyone and especially those suffering from trauma.

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton