Do I Have PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may develop after an individual has experienced at least one traumatic event, sometimes more, depending on the situation. PTSD can appear at any age.
One of the determinants of PTSD is whether or not someone has been exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence through direct experience, witnessing, learning from someone else, or experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to the details of the traumatic event. That last one is a common experience for first responders.
Someone struggling with PTSD will also potentially experience recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event(s), recurrent distressing dreams, flashbacks (re-living the event), intense distress at exposure to internal or external triggers of the event. In addition, an individual may be avoidant of triggers of the event, moods might drastically shift, memory might be impaired, have persistent negative beliefs, lack of interest in pleasurable activities, detachment from others, and inability to experience positive emotions. Someone might also experience anger outbursts, destructive behavior, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and difficulty concentrating or sleeping.
If you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, I recommend seeking out therapeutic services.
Different Treatment Approaches for PTSD
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Somatic Experiencing (SE)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Art Therapy
- Play Therapy
- Dance/ Movement Therapy
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
- Exposure Therapies
- Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- Equine- Assisted Therapy
- Pet therapy
- Medication
Let’s Sum it Up
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very complex disorder marked by a wide variety of symptoms. Someone is diagnosed with PTSD if they have experienced at least one traumatic event which has led to intense distress, hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, and cognition and mood disturbances. In addition, there are a number of effective treatment approaches out there to help treat PTSD. Again, if any of the symptoms above resonate with you, be sure to seek out help from a trusted therapist.
About Therapist Nicole Koronkowski, LSW – Barnum Counseling
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
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