A very terrifying or threatening event may cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a kind of anxiety sickness. The trauma of what takes place can be so concentrated that it is challenging to start a regular life, even if you were not exactly contracted. Insomnia, flashbacks, low self-esteem, and a wide range of unpleasant or painful feelings are all common symptoms of PTSD. You may lose your memories of the incident entirely or experience it repeatedly. Still, it is curable. Medication and psychotherapy, both short- and long-term, can be relatively applicable and effective PTSD treatment options.
Effective PTSD Treatment Options:
Particular short-term psychotherapies are the primary effective PTSD treatment options. Below is a description of these treatments.
Psychotherapy:
CBT, or cognitive behavior therapy:
CBT for PTSD is trauma-focused, which means that the treatment is centered on the trauma event or events. Its main goal is to recognize, comprehend, and alter thought and behavior patterns. CBT is an active treatment that requires the patient to participate both within and outside of weekly sessions and acquire coping mechanisms for their symptoms. Repetitive practice of the techniques acquired in therapy sessions promotes symptom improvement. The typical duration of CBT sessions is 12–16 weeks.
Key Elements of CBT:
Although exposure and cognitive therapies vary throughout CBTs, they are the primary elements of the broader class of CBTs that have been shown time and time again to reduce symptoms.
Exposure therapy:
By exposing individuals to the traumatic memory they encounter in a secure setting, this kind of intervention assists them in confronting and managing their fears. Writing, mental imagery, and trips to individuals or locations that evoke their pain are all forms of exposure. Exposure to the setting containing the dreaded circumstance can also be achieved through virtual reality, which involves constructing a virtual environment that mimics the traumatic experience. When the technology is available, virtual reality, like other exposure approaches, can help in PTSD treatment exposures.
Cognitive restructuring:
People can make meaning of unpleasant memories with the use of this kind of intervention. People frequently have different memories of their trauma than how it occurred (for example, they may recall it in fragments or not at all). People frequently experience feelings of shame or guilt for parts of their trauma that were not their fault. Cognitive restructuring gives people a realistic perspective on the trauma by allowing them to examine what actually happened.
Description of Particular PTSD CBTs:
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT):
An application of cognitive therapy, cognitive processing therapy (CPT) seeks to identify and reassess trauma-related thought patterns. Following a traumatic occurrence, the treatment focuses on how the patient views the environment, other people, and oneself. After experiencing trauma, it’s common for erroneous thinking to “keep you stuck” and hinder your ability to recuperate. In CPT, you examine the causes of the trauma and how it has affected your way of thinking. For those who partially hold themselves responsible for a horrific experience, it might be very beneficial.
Prolonged Exposure (PE):
An additional type of CBT that emphasizes more behavioral therapy approaches is called Prolonged Exposure (PE), which benefits people who gradually tackle memories, conditions, and emotional states related to trauma. PE focuses on exposures to assist PTSD sufferers in avoiding memories of their experience. While avoiding these reminders could be beneficial in the near term, it hinders PTSD healing over time.
Other effective PTSD treatment options:
Cognitive behavioral therapy is not the only kind of PTSD treatment.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR):
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) includes handling upsetting memories, feelings, and emotions related to trauma. As they consider the traumatic experience, EMDR asks participants to focus on either a sound or a back-and-forth motion. Although this treatment is successful in treating PTSD, some studies have concluded that exposure alone is the active therapeutic component, rather than the back-and-forth movement.
Present Centered Therapy (PCT):
Instead of processing the trauma directly, present-centered therapy (PCT), a non-trauma-centered treatment approach, focuses on current problems. In addition to providing problem-solving techniques to cope with present-day stressors, PCT offers psychoeducation regarding the effects of trauma on a person’s life.
Medications:
Occasionally, medications are utilized in addition to one of the previously mentioned therapies. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are among the more widely used drug classes. Depression can be a component of PTSD, and SSRIs are antidepressants. Benzodiazepines are also infrequently used as an accessory and short-term treatment. Benzodiazepines are operative, short-performing medications that have the potential to turn addictive.
Conclusion
After a traumatic incident, receiving professional assistance can be difficult. Suppose that there is a PTSD treatment that efforts and that receiving help will ultimately make your warning sign recover. When talking over treatment options with your healthcare practitioner, consider that they are there to support and help you. Consult with a qualified mental healthcare provider like Icon Psychologies if you or someone you care about is struggling with PTSD.
