A New Crossroad

PTSD Treatment

What is PTSD and How Can It Be Treated?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a mental illness. After experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening incident, PTSD is possible. Stress reactions to such events are normal and can resolve within a few weeks to months time.

After a trauma, it’s common to have disturbing memories or trouble sleeping. It may seem difficult at first to perform daily tasks such as work, school, and spending time with loved ones. Most people feel better within a few weeks to months but timeframes vary. PTSD symptoms can also appear later in life, or may come and go over time.

If the trauma has been ongoing for more than three months, your thoughts and feelings towards it are causing you stress or creating problems in your daily life, then you might have PTSD and should consider seeking out PTSD Treatment.

What are the Symptoms of PTSD?

Symptoms of PTSD may appear immediately or over time but they typically appear within six months of the trauma.

There are many symptoms including:

Becoming easily startled/frightened
Constantly being on guard
Self-destructive behavior, i.e. drinking too much or living recklessly
Sleep related issues
Struggling to concentrate
Irritability, angry outbursts/aggressive behavior
Tremendous guilt/shame

Not all people who have experienced trauma will develop PTSD. Many people will experience some symptoms of trauma for a time. These symptoms are normal reactions to trauma. Some people gradually come to terms. After a few weeks, their stress symptoms may begin to disappear.

However, some people may experience symptoms that last for a longer time and can develop PTSD. Some people might have symptoms for years. For a few people, this can lead to an unwanted personality shift.

How Can We Help?

Who Does PTSD Affect?

Not everyone who experiences a stressful event will develop PTSD.

Many factors can influence whether a person develops PTSD. Below are some examples. Risk factors increase the risk of developing PTSD. The disorder can also be reduced by other factors called “resilience factors”.

Several factors increase the risk of PTSD:

Tragedy and danger are part of life
How to get hurt
Afflicting pain on another person or viewing a body that is dead
Childhood trauma
Feeling helpless, fear, or horror
After the event, little or no support from others
Extra stress from the event such as loss or injury to a loved one or job loss or home loss
A history of substance abuse or mental illness

These are some factors that can help you recover from trauma

Support from friends and family
After a trauma event, it is important to find PTSD Treatment
In the face of danger, it is important to feel positive about your actions
A positive coping strategy is a way to get through bad events and learn from them
Being able act and respond efficiently despite fear

PTSD Statistics

Six out of 100 people will experience PTSD in their lifetime, which is 6% of the population. This means that approximately 15 million Americans will suffer from PTSD in any given year. Approximately 8% of women will experience PTSD in their lifetime, compared to 4% for men.

More than 80% people suffering from PTSD also have another mental disorder.
3.5% of Americans experience PTSD every year
20% of veterans have PTSD
30% of Vietnam soldiers have experienced PTSD
PTSD will affect 7% of American military personnel
70% of Americans will experience some form of trauma
3.8% of PTSD sufferers experienced a traumatic natural catastrophe

PTSD can also be present in adolescence. However, trauma from childhood may not show symptoms until the brain matures further. Many studies have shown that PTSD affects approximately 3.6 percent of Americans over the age of 18.

According to estimates, 36.6% of people are severely impaired and 33.1% are moderately or mildly impaired. People of all ages can be affected by PTSD and those suffering should immediatly seek out PTSD Treatment.

PTSD Treatment Options

Data on PTSD highlights the importance of seeking therapy. PTSD sufferers who sought PTSD Treatment experienced symptoms for an average duration of 36 months. Those who did not seek treatment experienced symptoms for an average length of 64 months.

Although treatment doesn’t completely eliminate symptoms in about one-third people with PTSD, many people notice a significant improvement in their PTSD-related health issues.

Treatment for PTSD often includes counseling or medication to treat the symptoms.

All PTSD Treatments are designed to help people process their trauma.

Antidepressant medication isn’t necessarily a cure all treatment, but it can reduce the anxiety and sadness that often accompany PTSD.

Find PTSD Treatment

A New Crossroad offers personalized medication assisted treatment programs for PTSD treatment. Contact our team of substance abuse and mental health treatment professionals today to schedule your consultation with us!