How can one tell if you have PTSD? What are the symptoms of PTSD? How do you know if you have PTSD? These and many more questions need answers!
PS: This article is for entertainment purposes only. Do not use it to diagnose or treat any symptoms. Seek medical or professional help if you have PTSD.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD, is a reaction that occurs in some people after experiencing or observing a traumatic event. Typically, after exposure or death threats occur, the brain begins to have difficulty processing trauma memories. As a result, people with post-traumatic disorder experience recurrent anxious thoughts and nightmares. They may experience out-of-body experiences when reliving the traumatic event and sudden inappropriate triggers.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is often associated with ER nurses, first responders, and war veterans, but it can affect anyone one of us after a severe or traumatic experience. In the United States, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is diagnosed in about 3. 5% of the population and is twice as likely to affect women as men.
Simply, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an affliction, not a disease. It has some symptoms similar to any other mental health condition. However, the most common symptoms of PTSD include intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, hot flashes, and sudden and prolonged anxiety. It’s not surprising that these symptoms often accompany other mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety.
How do you know if you have PTSD?
The best way to get a positive answer is to know what the symptoms are. How do you know if you have PTSD? Is it similar to the symptoms of another mental illness? Here are some of the major symptoms of PTSD.
The most obvious one is flashbacks. You may recall a terrifying event from your past. However, you are not sure why you are remembering it. Your mind has difficulty processing this memory because you are emotionally raw. You may also feel detached from others and situations in your life at the same time.
Another symptom is hot flashes. These can range from mildly uncomfortable to extremely painful. When you get one, it’s not uncommon for people to get chills, sweating, and a racing heart. Some women get the same effect but they’re not triggered by hormones like men do. This is often associated with breast cancer treatment, thyroid conditions, or hypoglycemia.
You may also have nightmares. They can be nightmares related to a traumatic event or a dream that comes true. If a dream or a memory comes true, you may have nightmares over the next few days, weeks, and months. If you have PTSD, you have nightmares, too.
You may also find yourself waking up in your bed at night and being unable to get back to sleep. This can happen several times a week or even on occasion. The reason for this is that you are very tired. You probably feel spaced out and hyper-tired. You need to take a nap or rest during the day to prevent this. If you do the rest, you’ll wind up feeling refreshed when you wake up.
Why PTSD Needs Professional Intervention
When you have PTSD, you need help. You need therapy, medication, and support. This is serious and can take time to get back to normal. You need to know that you are not alone and you should never feel embarrassed about this condition.
Many people live with this disorder for years before getting treatment. It can affect their life as much as a traumatic brain injury would. You might start to become withdrawn from friends, family, work, and other activities. Depression can set in and you may try to isolate yourself from everyone else. This could lead to serious thoughts of suicide. Coping with PTSD requires serious effort.
The good news is that treatment for this disorder is available. The treatments will vary depending on what your triggers are. For example, if your emotional trauma was caused by a sexual assault, you might be given counseling and therapy. With therapy and counseling, you will learn how to deal with and move past the emotional issues that led to the disorder. This will take time but it will be worth it because it will enable you to live a more normal life.
Medication will also be prescribed. Anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers will all be prescribed to help cope with PTSD symptoms. These medications will help you cope with the anxiety, depression, and irritability that PTSD causes. However, these medications can have some serious side effects. If you are not careful, you could develop an addiction to these medications.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is another option available to help those who suffer from PTSD. You will talk to a therapist about the thoughts and beliefs that keep you stuck in a cycle of PTSD. He or she will help you recognize when you are having problems and how to change them so that you can better live your life.
Living with PTSD can be a difficult and frustrating experience. But you don’t have to suffer alone. If you think that you are suffering from this disorder, seek out professional help immediately. You don’t have to live a life filled with constant fear and worry – getting help now can put an end to your suffering and get you back on the path to living a normal life.
The Effects of Untreated PTSD on Relationships.
PTSD is something that many people know about, but that we don’t always understand. It has many effects on the lives of those who have it (especially if they aren’t receiving treatment) which create challenges to those people’s relationships. PTSD can lead to survivor’s guilt, social anxity, isolation, trouble with reconnecting after trauma, and a tendency to overshare about disturbing memories. All of these issues can pose challenges for partners, friends, or children of survivors
Therapy is often effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. A common treatment is cognitive processing therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy (CIS). Participants work with a therapist to identify thoughts that occur when activated, replacing them with thoughts that allow them to move beyond trauma.
Over time, they develop the ability to recognize these thoughts on their own rather than being crushed by them.