subject: Post-Traumatic Disorder: Remedies and Treatment [print this page] Post-Traumatic Disorder: Remedies and Treatment
Description:
Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as shell shock, is a critical condition that can shape after a person experiences a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. This could also happen after witnessing a traumatic event. PTSD is the result of intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Many people believe PTSD only happens to war victims but it is also very common in sexual or physical assault victims, family or friends of an unexpected person's death, emergency personnel such as firefighters or other rescue workers.
Most people that are involved in a traumatic situations will initially feel great fear, shock, anger, nervousness, and even guilt. These feelings are common and, for most people, will go away after a short amount of time. A person with PTSD, however, will continue to feel these symptoms long after the event has taken place and often the symptoms will increase until the person can no longer perform in their normal life.
Treatment and Anxiety Remedies:
The goal with treating PTSD is to minimize, and help the person deal, with the physical and mental symptoms so that the person can function better in day-to-day life. Treatment usually involves psychotherapy (a type of counseling), medication, or even both.
Medication
Doctors use antidepressant medications to treat PTSD and to manage the feelings of anxiety and its associated symptoms, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Paxil, Calexa, Luvox, Prozac, and Zoloft; and tricyclic antidepressants such as Elavil and Doxepin. Tranquilizers such as Ativan andKlonopin; mood stabilizers such as Depakote and Lamictal; and neuroleptics such as Seroquel and Abilify are sometimes used.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is meant to help the person learn skills to manage and cope with their PTSD symptoms. Psychotherapy is also used to teach the person and his or her family about the problem. There are a few psychotherapy approaches to treat people with PTSD, mainly including:
Cognitive-behavior therapy. This may help the person to learn to recognize and change thought patterns that lead to inhibiting emotions, feelings, and behavior.
Exposure therapy. This is a type of cognitive-behavior therapy that makes the person relive high anxiety situations. This is done in a safe, relaxing environment and teaches the person to tackle their fears. This seems to be very helpful in treating PTSD.
Psycho-dynamic therapy. This focuses on helping the person examine personal values and the emotional conflicts caused by the traumatic event.Family therapy. Often the person with PTSD has a great impact on his or her family and this helps everyone cope and live with the disorder.
Group therapy. This becomes helpful because it allows the person with PTSD to share his or her thoughts, fears, and feelings with others that have or have had a similar disorder.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). A intricate form of psychotherapy that was initially designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories but is now also used to treat phobias.
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