PTSD and Trauma Therapy
find healingPTSD and Trauma Therapy
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after experiencing a traumatic event. A trauma can change the way you think and feel, which can interfere with your life and relationships. Trauma therapy can help treat your PTSD or lasting effects and help you heal.
It’s normal to have upsetting memories, feel fear, or not feel like yourself after experiencing a trauma. At first, it may be hard to do normal daily activities, but most people start to feel better after a few weeks or months.
If it’s been longer than a few months and you are still having symptoms, you may have PTSD. For some people, PTSD symptoms may start later, may come and go over time, or may be triggered by other life situations.
Several trauma therapies, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), can help you understand how trauma has impacted your thoughts and emotions and work towards healing.
Common Symptoms
*This is informational and not diagnostic. Please schedule an appointment if you are having emotional difficulties following a traumatic event*
Exposure to traumatic event
PTSD is a mental and emotional reaction to the experience of a threatening event, including death, threatened death, intense fear, and/or feeling helpless.
Avoidance
You may be avoiding people, places, or activities that bring back memories of the traumatic event. You may also avoid emotions, in general and towards the trauma. Thoughts about the trauma are also typically avoided.
Intrusions
Intrusions may include intrusive thoughts and/or memories of the event, nightmares, feeling as if the trauma was happening again, and having physical reactions to memories/thoughts of the trauma
Unhelpful thoughts and extreme moods
Traumas may alter the way people think. Overly negative thoughts about oneself and the world, exaggerated blame, and spotty memory are common. It is also common to feel an inability to experience emotions such as love and happiness and feel less interested in doing things you usually enjoy.
Arousal and reactivity
People often react stronger and more impulsively than before the trauma. You may become more angry, even towards smaller situations. You may engage in risky behaviors that you did not engage in before. You may feel jumpy or startle easy. People also have difficulties sleeping and concentrating.