Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Trauma and Abuse
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (also known as PTSD) is a form of anxiety disorder. It is commonly developed after a person has experienced or undergone a traumatic event such as a sexual assault or accident. After a tragic and traumatic event, it is natural to have residual feelings such as anger, fear and sadness. It is important to seek assistance when these patterns continue for a long period of time, become distressing and impact on day-to-day life, as it may indicate symptoms of PTSD. Therefore, it’s very important to seek out the help of a professional who can assist you in working through these events and begin to process your experience.
It is estimated that around 1/5 of people who have suffered a severe traumatic event go on to develop PTSD which, as well as being distressing and painful, can affect your every day life, work and relationships. Appropriate treatment carried out by a metal health professional is an effective way to release these feelings and emotions and begin to find ways to process and begin to recover from what they have experienced.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is identified by three main groups of symptoms:
Flashbacks:
These can appear in the way of nightmares or repetitive thoughts of the event itself. Physically there may be symptoms that occur which include heart palpitations, panic attacks and sweating.
Emotional numbness and avoidance:
These may appear to help the person suffering when they experience reminders of the traumatic event. Going in to avoidance to ignore potential reminders can create a loss of interest in daily activities, or even retreat or disassociate from family and friends.
Anxiousness
This can happen as the person may be on edge waiting for something to happen again, which can lead to anger or not being able to concentrate on tasks they usually would.
A person who has undergone trauma of any may feel as though they have moved through it until they have an experience that triggers the symptoms or feelings again. Other anxiety disorders can also develop in the way of phobias or anxiety in social settings, depressions or addiction.
*Information sourced from: Sane Australia www.sane.org
Treatment
A thorough assessment will be conducted by one of our professionals, in order to determine the type and seriousness of your condition. From there, we can decide on the best type of treatment plan, that is tailored specifically to your needs. At Hoppers Crossing Psychology, our aim is to help you work through things, so that you can lead a normal and happy life.
There are many options for treatment, each with high success rates, that can be individualised to meet your needs, such as:
Trauma focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness and relaxation therapy
Skills Training
Drug and Alcohol Counselling
