PTSD Treatment in Baton Rouge

Going through a traumatic event can change your perspective on many things. It can also create a mental health disorder known as PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder can include experiences like flashbacks, severe anxiety, and nightmares. If these symptoms persist for months, or even years, they can have a dramatic effect on your daily life. Here is everything you need to know about PTSD.

What is PTSD?

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a mental health condition that is caused by an event that terrifies a person. This can occur whether the event happened to you, or if you witnessed it.

What are the Symptoms of PTSD?

The symptoms of PTSD typically occur within a month of your traumatic experience. The symptoms of those that suffer from this condition can severely impact your life. From social settings to relationships, to your career, normal daily tasks become more difficult as a result. There are four types of general PTSD symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions.

What are Intrusive Memories?

Intrusive memories are unwanted, recurring, and stressful memories of your traumatic event. They cause you to relive your experience as if it were happening again, also referred to as a flashback.

What is Avoidance?

As a symptom of PTSD, avoidance can be described as taking action to avoid talking or thinking about your traumatic event. Avoiding the people, places, and activities that remind you of this experience is another sign of avoidance.

How are Negative Changes in Thinking and Mood Identified?

If your mood or thought process takes a negative turn, it can be a result of post traumatic stress disorder. These changes in your mood and logic can be identified by:

• Feelings of hopelessness
• Lack of close relationships
• Negative thoughts about yourself and others
• No hope in the future
• Detachment from relationships
• Lack of interest in enjoyable activities

How are Changes in Physical and Emotional Reactions Identified?

Drastic changes in the way your emotionally and physically respond to things are known as arousal symptoms. They can be direct signs that you are suffering from PTSD. These arousal symptoms include:

• Constantly being on defense against danger
• Sleeping issues
• Difficulty concentrating
• Easily startled
• Overwhelming shame
• Aggressive outbursts

What Causes PTSD?

There are a variety of factors that can lead to the development of PTSD. Some of these factors include:

• A family history of mental health issues
• Stressful experiences, as well as the severity and frequency
• How your brain handles hormones and chemicals in response to stress

What are the Risk Factors of PTSD?

PTSD can affect people of all ages. However, certain factors can make it more likely that you develop this condition.

• Childhood trauma
• Intense or long-term traumatic events
• Other mental health conditions
• Being without a support system
• Having a traumatic job (i.e. military, first responder, etc.)
• Genetics (relatives with mental health conditions)

What Complications are Associated with PTSD?

PTSD influences everything in your life. The ability to enjoy your life, function in your job, and maintain your health all become compromised. PTSD can also lead to depression, eating disorders, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicidal thoughts or actions.

Can PTSD be Prevented?

Depression, fear, anxiety, and guilt are all frequent emotions that are experienced after a traumatic event. While these are symptoms of PTSD, many people do not suffer from these effects on a long-term basis. If you experience a traumatic event, receiving timely help and support can prevent these stressors from getting worse.

How is PTSD Treated?

PTSD affects everyone differently. However, there are several different types of therapy and medications that can help. Attempting different therapies, or a combination of therapies can be very effective in alleviating the symptoms of this condition. Cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT, has been found to consistently be helpful as both a short-term and a long-term treatment option for PTSD. The focus of CBT is to identify, understand, and change thinking and behavior patterns. There are several different types of CBT that can be effect in treating post traumatic stress disorder.

• Exposure Therapy – Exposure therapy is an intervention technique designed to help you face and control your fears. This is done so by experiencing your trauma memory in the context of a safe environment. This therapy type gradually exposes you to the traumatic event in order to become less sensitive to this experience over time.
• Cognitive Restructuring – The purpose of cognitive restructuring is to help you make sense of your bad memories. Traumatic events can be remembered differently than how they actually occurred. Cognitive restructuring helps you see the facts of the event, instead of the feelings of guilt or shame.
• Cognitive Processing Therapy – The recognition and reevaluation of traumatic experiences is the goal of cognitive processing therapy. This strategy is focused on the way you view yourself, others, and your environment after the event, or events, that triggered your PTSD. This therapy option can also be useful in the situation that you blame yourself for your trauma.
• Stress Inoculation Training – In order to reduce anxiety, learning certain coping skills can help you mitigate the stress that PTSD can create. Whether this technique is used on its own, or in conjunction with other types of CBT, skills like muscle relaxation, assertiveness skills, and breathing retraining, can help different people react differently to their different symptoms.

In addition to CBT, some medications can enhance the effects of treatment. SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are anti-depressants can counteract depression, which can be a part of PTSD. Benzodiazepines can also be a short term and adjunctive treatment.