After a frightening, traumatic, or stressful event, it is normal to experience some lingering memories and unstable emotions for a time as you process what happened. With post traumatic stress disorder, the emotions and memories persist, leading to extreme changes and distress in the months, days, and years after the event that make it difficult to manage your day to day life.
Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is one of the mental health challenges we treat at Aware Behavioral Health. Dr. Sehdev is a Dallas-Fort Worth psychiatrist certified to treat PTSD for clients of all ages and no matter what type of event led to your symptoms. Call us today at 888-677-4562 to learn more about PTSD diagnoses and treatments.
CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
People of any age or lifestyle can experience or witness an event that causes PTSD. Some of the more common events that can lead to post traumatic stress afterwards include:
- Combat Experience
- Car Accidents
- Sexual Assault
- Physical Assault
- Childhood Abuse
- Break-ins or Muggings
Any other life threatening event or event that prompted an extreme emotional or stress response can lead to the symptoms of PTSD. These symptoms can occur shortly after the event or may occur for the first time years later. How severe the symptoms are can also vary over time. The types of symptoms you may experience include:
- Changes in Thinking – Many people suffering from PTSD start to feel depressive symptoms like hopelessness, withdrawing from relationships or previously enjoyable activities, trouble remembering past events, or a dissociation from all emotion.
- Changes in Emotions – A sense of always being on edge, irritable, angry, or guilty are common emotional responses to PTSD.
- Changes in Physical Behavior – Those experiencing PTSD may exhibit reckless behavior or have trouble falling and staying asleep.
- Memories of the Event – Memories may surface in the form of nightmares, reliving traumatic experiences, or intrusive thoughts as you go throughout the day.
- Avoidance – You may begin to avoid people, places, or situations that will remind you of the event, or suppress thoughts of the event to avoid processing them.
Different triggers can cause an onset of more severe PTSD symptoms. Sounds, sensations, and stories that resemble your own can bring up memories that cause you to relive traumatic events.
HOW WE MANAGE PTSD SYMPTOMS AT AWARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
PTSD symptoms that persist months or years after the event, often benefit from therapy and professional treatments to help manage them.
At Aware Behavioral Health, Dr. Sehdev’s goal is to help you regain control over your life by either mitigating or eliminating the symptoms of PTSD where possible. One way we do this is through medication that may include:
- Antidepressants
- Anti-Anxiety Medications
- Prazosin
Our treatment may also include different forms of psychotherapy to help you understand and either move past or desensitize yourself to past events and the triggers that bring on PTSD episodes. Since every case of PTSD and every person is unique, we base our treatment plans around your particular experiences, your health history, and more, so we can achieve the most effective treatment.
WHY TREAT YOUR PTSD AT AWARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH?
PTSD is an ongoing struggle. But it does not have to. Dr. Sehdev at Aware Behavioral Health can provide you with tools to help you move forward. If you’re looking for a Dallas psychiatrist or want to learn more about how our treatment options work, contact us today at 888-677-4562 to set up an appointment.