Do You Have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Or do you know someone who does?

What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death.

What causes PTSD?

PTSD can occur at any age. It can follow a natural disaster such as a flood or fire, or events such as:

• Assault


• Domestic abuse


• Prison stay


• Rape


• Terrorism


• War

It is normal to have stress reactions after a traumatic event. Your emotions and behavior can change in ways that are troubling to you. It's when the symptoms become overwhelming that you start to feel out of control.

What are some symptoms of PTSD?

In moments of danger, our bodies prepare to fight our enemy, flee the situation, or freeze in the hope that the danger will move past us. But those feelings of alertness may stay even after the danger has passed.

• You may feel tense or afraid


• You may feel agitated and jumpy


• You may feel "on alert"


• You may feel Sadness or depression,


• You may feel a sense of loss


• You may have crying spells


• You may lose interest in things you used to enjoy


• You may want to be alone all the time


• You may  feel tired, empty, and numb

What are common treatments for PTSD?

The two main types are psychotherapy, sometimes called “counseling,” and medication. Sometimes people combine psychotherapy and medication.

Counseling could involve a variety of approaches that basically lead you to think about and talk through your thoughts and feelings while you learn skills to better understand how the trauma changed you. Some therapy exposes you to the stressful thoughts until you become desensitized to them. Another involves learning unrelated eye and hand movements or sounds while you talk about the traumatic event. Over time, it can help change how you react to your memories of the trauma.

Medications may be used to help you feel better, especially in those with high anxiety. The drugs may lead to  and are not recommended for long-term PTSD treatment.

A question that bothers me

• If PTSD results from memories and negative thoughts about a stressful event in our lives; and


• If negative thinking grows with attention according to noted author and counselor, Dr. Richard Carlson; then


• How can treatment that causes us to think and talk about negative things help us? It would seem like thinking and talking would make the situation worse and certainly prolong resolving the issue.

Consider this:

• If thinking about something makes us angry, don't think about it.


• If thinking about something makes us anxious, don't think about it.


• If thinking about something makes us afraid, don't think about it.


• If thinking about something makes ufs sad, don't think about it.

Sound too simple?

That's exactly how I solved my problem with anger years ago. I learned how to not think about it. It worked so well that I wrote an on-line course called Finding Personal Peace so you can learn how to NOT think about your painful issues. It worked for me; it can work for you.

God bless,



www.findingpersonalpeace.com

P.S. Click to view all my posts. Thanks.