PTSD Symptoms, Causes & Treatments | Advanced Health Preference Group

PTSD can affect anyone at any age and of any ethnicity. About 12 million people worldwide experience PTSD. It’s a psychiatric condition that severely impacts life and causes emotional and physical distress. PTSD was previously known by the names “shell shock” or “combat fatigue” and recognized by the DSM in the 1980s. 

Read this article to gain a better understanding of PTSD. 

What is PTSD?  

PTSD is a mental health condition that impacts the brain. It usually occurs after experiencing a tragic event or traumatic events, such as a disaster, military combat, or physical violence. The main symptoms are flashbacks and nightmares of the tragic event. PTSD is a serious mental health condition and causes distress in everyday life. 

What Are The Signs of PTSD? 

• Mental discomfort when recalling the event 
• Having nightmares about the tragic event
• Avoiding places where the tragic event happened
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Feeling tense
• Guilt
• Depression 
• Loss of concentration and interest 

How Does PTSD Impact Daily Life?

PTSD occurs after experiencing tragic incidents that have threatened one’s life, such as war, frequent physical abuse, and a terrorist attack. Individuals with PTSD can face long-term challenges. Moreover, individuals can also develop PTSD if any loved one has been through a traumatic event.

Here is how PTSD impacts your everyday life.

Psychological Impact 

Individuals with PTSD re-experience the tragic incident through flashbacks; these sensations will occur at any time without any warning and impact daily life. 

Such as:

• Having nightmares that remind them of trauma
• Repeated images, sounds, or feelings that remind one of the tragic event. 
• Flashbacks in which an individual may feel that the tragic event is happening again. 

Changes in Cognitive Function 

PTSD impacts cognitive functioning, such as concentration and memory, which causes distress in day-to-day tasks. Individuals with PTSD also experience guilt, shame, and fear, which negatively impact their mood and cause distress. 

Physical Health 

PTSD severely impacts physical health. Individuals with PTSD experience the following physical symptoms.

• Angry outbursts 
• Trouble sleeping 
• Lack of concentration 
• Feeling jumpy and on edge 

Emotional And Mental Effects 

Individuals with PTSD have mental effects that impact the structure of the brain after experiencing trauma, and individuals experience the following symptoms:

• Guilt or blame 
• Loss of memory 
• Negative thoughts and feelings 

Social Effect 

Individuals with PTSD avoid social situations sometimes due to anger outbursts. They may feel like no one understands what they have been through, leading them to distance themselves from others 

What are The Causes of PTSD? 

PTSD can be caused by changes in the brain, neurotransmitters, and hormones.  Individuals with PTSD have a low level of cortisol, which releases the CRF. An increase in CFR triggers the neurophrine, which increases the stress.  

What are the Common Misconceptions of PTSD? 

PTSD is associated with traumatic events such as rape, abuse, or natural disasters. Individuals who have experienced car accidents, bullying, or miscarriage can also get PTSD that can’t be ignored. However, many people believe that only military veterans have PTSD, not civilians. Due to this misconception, many people struggle with PTSD their whole life and don’t get treatment. 

Why do Individuals With PTSD not Seek Help? 

A recent study indicates that 70% of the people with PTSD don’t get their treatments due to the stigma and label.  

• Individuals with PTSD remain unaware of PTSD symptoms and think that flashbacks and nightmares are part of life.
• PTSD and C-PTSD can occur alongside other mental health conditions with other mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety; due to this, comorbid PTSD remains misdiagnosed and gets worse in many cases. 
• Many individuals are unaware that PTSD and C-PTSD are treatable with available therapies.

Treatment Options 

A certified psychiatrist recommends psychotherapy and medications to reduce the symptoms of PTSD. 

Medications 

The FDA has approved some medications, like SSRIs, for PTSD treatment.  Here are some medications that can be helpful for individuals with PTSD.  

• SSRIs
• SNRIs
• Anti-anxiety 

Psychotherapy

Healthcare experts use effective and tested therapies to help individuals recover from PTSD. 

Here are some of the therapies that can be helpful 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT is highly effective for reducing the symptoms of PTSD. It helps individuals by providing strategies to cope with negative thoughts. Here are some types of CBT that help with PTSD.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

It’s an evidence-based therapy that helps to treat individuals suffering from PTSD. It challenges the negative thoughts and beliefs and helps the individual to overcome them. It usually requires 12 sessions and can be delivered in group or individual settings. 

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

It is a type of CBT that helps individuals by imagining the same situation, fear, and trauma to see the triggers in a safe environment, such as virtual reality. Moreover, it helps a person to gain control over their fears.  

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

It’s a specially designed therapy for children and adolescents to overcome the fears that haunt them, such as sexual abuse and domestic violence.  It reduces PTSD symptoms, helps develop coping strategies, and involves caretakers in supporting the child. 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR reprocesses traumatic memories and reduces distress using bilateral stimulation. It helps in reducing the emotional distress caused by tragic events, and individuals experience changes in thoughts, feelings, and images. These treatments usually take three months. 

Group therapy

Group therapy is very beneficial for individuals who are suffering from similar disorders. Healthcare professionals create a non-judgmental environment where a group of people gather together and share their experiences.

Last Thoughts

PTSD is a severe mental health condition that can be caused by a tragic or traumatic event that happened in the past, it can be a rape, miscarriage, natural disasters, verbal abuse, or bullying. Individuals with PTSD struggle with daily life activities due to cognitive impairment and have disturbances in sleep, lack of concentration, and avoidance of social gatherings. Many individuals think that PTSD can only occur in military veterans and cannot be diagnosed in civilians; this is just a misconception.