Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:
What is PTSD?
Is There a Successful PTSD Treatment?
by Ginny NiCarthy
counselor and author
You wake from a nightmare sweating or shaking or
screaming.
Startled by an unexpected sound or touch, you nearly
jump out
of your skin.
You try to shut out feelings about that awful thing
that happened to you.
But certain smells, sounds and sights re-stimulate
the pain and fear from the past.
You may begin taking roundabout routes to work or
school to avoid encountering triggering sights or sounds.
You may begin using alcohol or drugs keep away the
fear, grief, self-blame or anger—at least in the short run.
The nightmares, startle reactions, flashbacks and
avoidance make you wonder if you are going crazy.
Those reactions are often Post Trauma Stress
Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, but that doesn’t mean you’re “crazy.” They
are your mind’s response to extreme, unanticipated frightening
events. PTSD is common among combat veterans. Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder has been in the news often lately because many Iraqi
vets suffer from it. But you needn’t have fought in a war to
experience the prolonged effects of the fear and pain of trauma.
Your wounds may be the result of physical, sexual
or emotional assaults as a child. Abuse and coercive control by an
intimate partner or other family member can result in traumatizing
humiliation. PTSD can also results from frightening car accidents or
train accidents, hurricanes or floods–events that may be no one’s
fault. You may have lost your job, your home or your intimate
partner. You may have witnessed a violent death. Whatever happened,
you experienced a physical, emotional or spiritual shock.
Recovery from trauma can be quick, especially if
there has been only one harrowing event and if you have supportive
people in your life. Some of us have adequate resources, strengths
and resilience to weather the traumas. Others may lack these
resources, to a greater or lesser degree-- often because of a
history of perceived failure, rejection, neglect humiliation or
abuse. Sometimes the trauma seems horrific and overwhelming.
If you’ve ever watched a toddler learning to walk,
you’ll see the essence of resilience. The child takes off joyously,
and then, smack! She falls down. Maybe she cries a little, but then
gets up and courageously tries again and surrounding family members
cheer her attempts.
That’s the way life has been for many of us. We crawled, stood,
walked and ran, refusing to give up when we fell flat. But sometimes
trauma feels like it’s too much to take, especially when one such
event is followed by additional emotional or physical assaults. If
that’s what you have experienced, you may feel afraid to get up
again, especially, if just as you’re gathering the strength to stand
up—smack--you’re hit again. This is the experience of many in
situations of childhood neglect, abuse or domestic violence.
You may begin to blame yourself, or decide
everyone else is cruel or hates you. It may seem safer not to trust
anyone, or you avoid certain kinds of people, and after a while the
categories of those who are untrustworthy grow until eventually
almost everyone is viewed as threatening.
If isolation, depression and anxiety follow, you may
start drinking or taking drugs to shut out the pain. It may work
temporarily, but, in the long run, continued reliance on liquor or
drugs lead to a condition that is called alcohol abuse or alcohol
dependence secondary to PTSD. Alcoholism or drug addiction can
become a second but equal diagnosis to the PTSD.
The good news is that there are new and more
reliable kinds of PTSD therapy are available. Therapy can help
reduce your nightmares, your startle reactions, flashbacks and the
isolation that comes from avoiding potential memory triggers. Many
people suffering from PTSD don’t begin the work of recovery for
years after the trauma occurred. They are pleasantly surprised to
discover it is never too late to begin PTSD recovery.
A counselor or therapist who is experienced in
(PE) Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can work with
you to stop posttraumatic stress disorder from interfering with the pleasures and
satisfactions of your present life. After two or three months, there
is a good chance you can be free of the emotional storms based on
past trauma, and fully live the life you choose, based on present day
realities.
Ginny NiCarthy is a Seattle area counselor and author of a number of
books relating to domestic violence victim treatment.
See also:
Find an EMDRIA Certified EMDR therapist in the Puget Sound area on CounselingSeattle.com.
Model program for
Prolonged Exposure Therapy..
This document is Copyrighted© 2008 by CounselingSeattle.com, Floyd
Else, Webmaster, and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part without
crediting the author, source and site name. All rights reserved.