PTSD treatment

Soldier sitting on a couch getting treatment for PTSD

Hawaii has a well-earned reputation as a place where life is generally mellow and relaxed. Nevertheless, dangerous and frightening things can happen here, just as they do in other parts of the world. When they happen to you, the effects of the experience can linger for a long time afterward, affecting your ability to move on and function in the world. This can be the result of a mental health condition called post-traumatic stress disorder. It can be very disruptive to your life, but fortunately, it may be treatable. 

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

PTSD occurs because of an event that was extremely frightening or dangerous to the point of being life-threatening. It may be something that happened to you, or you may have witnessed someone else going through it. It takes time to work through the feelings you may have in response to an experience like that, and for a while, it is normal to experience symptoms such as loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, or a lack of pleasure in activities you once enjoyed. With PTSD, symptoms such as these may be chronic, lasting more than a few months, and interfere with your ability to carry on with your life. 

Some events that cause PTSD occur suddenly, such as military combat, car accident, terrorist attack, or natural disaster. Others occur persistently over an extended period of time, such as physical abuse or military combat; experts estimate that up to 20% of American veterans have experienced PTSD.

How Common Is PTSD?

Roughly 10% of all Americans experience PTSD at some point in their lives. On an annual basis, approximately 3.5% of adults in the United States experience PTSD. 

PTSD is more common in women than in men. People with a prior history of mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, may be more susceptible to it. You may be more likely to develop PTSD if the trauma was extremely intense, long-lasting, or repeated. Certain types of trauma, such as sexual assault or military combat, are more likely to cause PTSD. 

What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?

PTSD symptoms are organized into four groups: 

  • Intrusive Memories: You may relive the event in the form of flashbacks when you are awake or vivid nightmares when you sleep.

  • Negative Thinking and Mood Changes: You may feel emotionally numb and experience a lack of interest in activities you once found enjoyable. You may experience problems with memory and have negative thoughts about yourself or those around you.

  • Heightened Arousal Symptoms: You may feel constantly alert or on guard, unable to relax for fear that something will happen to you. You may startle more easily. 

  • Avoidance: You may go out of your way to avoid anything that reminds you of the event, so you don't have to think about it.

How Is PTSD Diagnosed?

When you talk to a health care provider in Waikiki about the symptoms you are experiencing, they will ask you how long they have lasted. To qualify as PTSD, symptoms have to last more than a month. They also have to interfere significantly with your life. For example, it can disrupt your relationships with people close to you, prompt you to use drugs or alcohol, or cause thoughts of causing harm to other people or yourself. 

Based on this conversation, your provider will use a list of criteria created by the American Psychiatric Association to make the diagnosis. While there is no lab test or scan for PTSD, your provider may also perform a physical exam to rule out an underlying medical condition.

PTSD Treatment and Management

PTSD treatment almost always includes therapy. This may be combined with medications. Common types of therapy used to treat PTSD include:

  • Prolonged exposure therapy, in which you face the situations and feelings you have avoided, sometimes over and over. 

  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, in which you think about the event while focusing on specific movements. Over time, the goal of this technique is to make the event seem less upsetting. 

  • Cognitive processing therapy involves changing negative thoughts and beliefs about the traumatic event and teaching you coping strategies to deal with them more effectively.

In addition to therapy, your provider may also prescribe medications that help you manage emotions and stress more effectively. 

Can I Prevent PTSD After a Traumatic Event?

Studies suggest that taking steps to remain positive following trauma may help to prevent PTSD symptoms from developing: 

  • Stay in constant contact with people you are close to

  • Practice positive thinking

  • Help other people

  • Ask for support and help

  • Think of yourself not as a victim but as a survivor

However, traumatic events are unpredictable, and there is no way to predict how you will react psychologically after that. 

Begin Your PTSD Treatment in Waikiki Today

One of our urgent care doctors can assess your symptoms and refer you to a therapist who can help. If you or someone you know is affected by symptoms of PTSD, Contact us for more information.

Image Source: Motortion Films / Shutterstock

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