Understanding PTSD on PTSD Awareness Day: Insights and Support from Creating Your Balance Counseling Therapy
June 27 marks PTSD Awareness Day, an important occasion to shed light on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—a condition that affects millions worldwide. At Creating Your Balance Counseling Therapy, we recognize the critical importance of awareness, understanding, and proper treatment of PTSD. This article aims to demystify PTSD, offering insights into its symptoms, causes, and the supportive treatments available.
What is PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Many people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms worsen, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD
PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. Symptoms can vary over time or vary from person to person. They include:
- Intrusive memories such as recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event, reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks), and severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event.
- Avoidance of thinking or talking about the traumatic event and avoiding places, activities, or people that remind you of the traumatic event.
- Negative changes in thinking and mood like negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world, hopelessness about the future, memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event, difficulty maintaining close relationships, feeling detached from family and friends, lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed, difficulty experiencing positive emotions, and feeling emotionally numb.
- Changes in physical and emotional reactions (also called arousal symptoms) such as being easily startled or frightened, always being on guard for danger, self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior, and overwhelming guilt or shame.
Causes and Risk Factors
PTSD can occur in people of any ethnicity, nationality, or culture, and at any age. It can be caused by:
- Combat exposure
- Childhood physical abuse
- Sexual violence
- Physical assault
- Being threatened with a weapon
- An accident
- Many other traumatic events
There are also factors that may increase the risk of developing PTSD, such as experiencing intense or long-lasting trauma, having experienced other trauma earlier in life, having a job that increases your risk of being exposed to traumatic events, having other mental health problems, and having problems with substance misuse.
Treatment and Support
Effective treatment for PTSD is available. At Creating Your Balance Counseling Therapy, we provide a range of therapeutic approaches to treat PTSD:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is highly effective for PTSD. It includes exposure therapy, which helps you safely face both situations and memories that you find frightening so that you can learn to cope with them effectively. Cognitive restructuring helps you make sense of the bad memories. Sometimes people remember the event differently than how it happened. They may feel guilt or shame about something that is not their fault. CBT can help you look at what happened in a realistic way.
PTSD Awareness Day is a vital time to recognize the struggles faced by those affected by PTSD and to spread knowledge about the support systems available. If you or someone you know is struggling with PTSD, remember, you are not alone. Treatment can be highly effective and can lead to a significant improvement in quality of life.
At Creating Your Balance Counseling Therapy, we are here to support you every step of the way on your journey to recovery. Please reach out if you need help or have questions about PTSD treatment.
Creating Your Balance Counselling Therapy
25 Wentworth St., Unit 102
Dartmouth, NS
B2Y 2S7
T: (902) 420-6934
email: admin@cybct.ca
website: https://cybct.ca
BOOK NOW:https://creatingyourbalancecounsellingtherapy.janeapp.com
