PTSD is an anxiety disorder affecting many and causes a great deal of stress and fright on the affected according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIHM) familiar with this condition. It is a condition that is common among war veterans and survivors of physical and sexual assault, abuse, accidents, and serious disasters. But again not everyone with PTSD has been through dangerous experiences. And PTSD can set in at any age. PTSD could be triggered by the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one. And from the many studies that have been done to understand this condition, psychologists have been able to group the many conditions symptomatic of PTSD into three categories which are: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms.
Re-experiencing symptoms has to do withflashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating, bad dreams, and frightening thoughts which interfere with a person's everyday routine. Avoidance symptoms have to do with feelings of strong guilt, depression or worry typical of losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past. And hyper-arousal symptoms are occasions of feeling really tense or "on edge" and having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.
A psychiatrist or psychologist is the expert who can diagnose this condition and be able to determine the problem based on the 3 categories described in this paper. Researchers are studying the importance of various risk and resilience factors. With more study, it may be possible someday to predict who is likely to get PTSD and prevent it. The main treatments for people with PTSD, however, are psychotherapy ("talk" therapy), medications, or both. Everyone is different, so a treatment that works for one person may not work for another. It is important for anyone with PTSD to be treated by a mental health care provider who is experienced with PTSD. Some people with PTSD need to try different treatments to find what works for their symptoms.
Types of Psychotherapy and Common Medications
Many types of psychotherapy can help people with PTSD. Some types target the symptoms of PTSD directly. Other therapies focus on social, family, or job-related problems. The doctor or therapist may combine different therapies depending on each person's needs. One helpful therapy is called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. There are several parts to CBT, including: exposure therapy (helping patients face and control their fear); cognitive restructuring (helping people make sense of the bad memories); and stress inoculation training (by reducing PTSD symptoms by teaching a person how to reduce anxiety).
Exploring further the treatment options for the disorder chosen, i.e. PTSD, one can talk about other types of treatment for PTSD condition which include common medications which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for treating adults with PTSD. These are: sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil). Both of these medications are antidepressants, which are also used to treat depression. They may help control PTSD symptoms such as sadness, worry, anger, and feeling numb inside. Taking these medications may make it easier to go through psychotherapy. But the common side effects of these medications such as headaches, nausea, reduced sex drive and agitation depending on how the individual reacts to these medications are often considered in dealing with issues of PTSD.
Non-Medicating Therapy
Other non-medicating therapy include for instance, single-session psychological debriefing, another type of mass trauma treatment, where survivors talk about the event and express their feelings one-on-one or in a group—though studies have also shown that it is not likely that psychological debriefing is a good enough approach to reduce distress or the risk for PTSD, instead, may actually increase distress and risk. Researchers, nonetheless, are also exploring how people can create "safety" memories to replace the bad memories that form after a trauma. The National Institute of Mental Health's goal in supporting this research is to improve treatment and find ways to prevent the disorder. Brain imaging and the study of genes, to find out more about what leads to PTSD, when it happens, and who is most at risk, is another approach in trying to understand why some people get PTSD and others do not. It is quite a challenge in trying to adequately deal with conditions of PTSD, however, researchers are relentless in improving the way people are screened for PTSD, given early treatment, and tracked after a mass trauma—which is a good thing.
Re-experiencing symptoms has to do withflashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating, bad dreams, and frightening thoughts which interfere with a person's everyday routine. Avoidance symptoms have to do with feelings of strong guilt, depression or worry typical of losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past. And hyper-arousal symptoms are occasions of feeling really tense or "on edge" and having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.
A psychiatrist or psychologist is the expert who can diagnose this condition and be able to determine the problem based on the 3 categories described in this paper. Researchers are studying the importance of various risk and resilience factors. With more study, it may be possible someday to predict who is likely to get PTSD and prevent it. The main treatments for people with PTSD, however, are psychotherapy ("talk" therapy), medications, or both. Everyone is different, so a treatment that works for one person may not work for another. It is important for anyone with PTSD to be treated by a mental health care provider who is experienced with PTSD. Some people with PTSD need to try different treatments to find what works for their symptoms.
Types of Psychotherapy and Common Medications
Many types of psychotherapy can help people with PTSD. Some types target the symptoms of PTSD directly. Other therapies focus on social, family, or job-related problems. The doctor or therapist may combine different therapies depending on each person's needs. One helpful therapy is called cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. There are several parts to CBT, including: exposure therapy (helping patients face and control their fear); cognitive restructuring (helping people make sense of the bad memories); and stress inoculation training (by reducing PTSD symptoms by teaching a person how to reduce anxiety).
Exploring further the treatment options for the disorder chosen, i.e. PTSD, one can talk about other types of treatment for PTSD condition which include common medications which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for treating adults with PTSD. These are: sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil). Both of these medications are antidepressants, which are also used to treat depression. They may help control PTSD symptoms such as sadness, worry, anger, and feeling numb inside. Taking these medications may make it easier to go through psychotherapy. But the common side effects of these medications such as headaches, nausea, reduced sex drive and agitation depending on how the individual reacts to these medications are often considered in dealing with issues of PTSD.
Non-Medicating Therapy
Other non-medicating therapy include for instance, single-session psychological debriefing, another type of mass trauma treatment, where survivors talk about the event and express their feelings one-on-one or in a group—though studies have also shown that it is not likely that psychological debriefing is a good enough approach to reduce distress or the risk for PTSD, instead, may actually increase distress and risk. Researchers, nonetheless, are also exploring how people can create "safety" memories to replace the bad memories that form after a trauma. The National Institute of Mental Health's goal in supporting this research is to improve treatment and find ways to prevent the disorder. Brain imaging and the study of genes, to find out more about what leads to PTSD, when it happens, and who is most at risk, is another approach in trying to understand why some people get PTSD and others do not. It is quite a challenge in trying to adequately deal with conditions of PTSD, however, researchers are relentless in improving the way people are screened for PTSD, given early treatment, and tracked after a mass trauma—which is a good thing.
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