Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that significantly impairs one's ability to fully function in life.
PTSD can be as a result of

early childhood abuse
witnessing a potentially life-threatening encounter
accident (car, plane, etc)
on-going harrassement
combat (war experience)
act of violence (robbery, carjacking)

Steps to recover from PTSD:
1) find a mental health professional who is very familiar with assessing and treating PTSD 2) Establish a plan of treatment WITH this professional

3) Incorporate your family and friends into the treatment process. Invite them to learn about PTSD, educate them, share your plan of action and engage their support.

4) Assess your sleep patterns. Sleep is critical to clear thinking and recovery. This may include reviewing current medications or incorporating new ones. See your physician about sleep disturbance. Begin to meditate 15 minutes daily, download meditation apps, buy a cd, or check some info out at the library specifically about meditation. Turn tv and computer off one hour before bed. Avoid alcohol before bed. 5) Discuss the trauma and how it has affected your life with your therapist.

6) Take small steps into overcoming your avoidance. What do you avoid: Places, smells, people, relationships, feelings? Learn to identify these “trigger” areas with your therapist. 7) Review your interpretations of the traumatic event. Is it accurate? Would it hold up in a court of law? Are your thoughts “automatic” and highly flawed about the incident? Are you carrying guilt and shame because of these cognitive errors (telling yourself the same thing over and over again, even if it’s incorrect, simply because it has become automatic.

8) Write an accurate account of the traumatic event and how it has affected your life. Read to therapist, trusted clergy, or wise mentor. This is the cycle of recover and repair.

Fight (protect and defend)
Flight (flee, escape, run)
Freeze (instinctive)
Posture (a puffed up attempt to avoid danger or death)
Submit

Read more about this topic in:

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

Most people who experience symptoms of PTSD are unaware of their impact, often believing that the thoughts, feelings, avoidance, anxiety, are normal. "I've always been this way," or, "most people think these thoughts."

For Veterans who experience earlier childhood abuse, military life and ensuing horror can make separation and recovery more complicated.

Not all people who experience a life-threatening encounter suffer from PTSD.

PTSD is diagnosed if symptoms persist.

Christina is a PTSD Specialist with additional expertise in miltary culture, specifically, the after math of war. She has treated Veterans from all campaigns and eras.

Untreated PTSD can cause severe problems in an intimate relationship.

Symptoms may include:

sleep disturbance, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, reactivity, nightmares, flashbacks, inability to concentrate, hypervigilance,exaggerated startle response, feelings of detachment, avoidance of stimuli, and outbursts of anger.

Please see a psychotherapist for a PTSD assessment.

Trauma is defined as an event in which a person experiences or witnesses actual threat of death or serious injury, or a threat to physical integrity of self or others.

Usually involves intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

VA PTSD App

Veterans dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress can now turn to their smart phones for help in coping with the mental affliction commonly associated with combat. The PTSD Coach application, created by VA and DoD, allows phone users to manage their symptoms, links them with local sources of support and provides information on PTS. The application is now available and can be downloaded for free in the iTunes store. An Android release is expected for late spring.