Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition that can develop following a trauma or terrifying event. PTSD was first recognized and brought to public attention by war veterans. Any traumatic or violent event such as rape, torture, mugging, being kidnapped, child abuse or serious accidents and natural disasters can trigger PTSD in a person. The event that triggers PTSD may be something that threatened the person’s life or the life of someone close to them. It can also be triggered by witnessing something traumatic such as a plane crash or an explosion that causes massive deaths.
A person with PTSD will have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of the traumatic event and will feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close too in their life. Some people experience the trauma over again repeatedly in the form of nightmares, flashbacks or disturbing recollections during the day. They may also experience a feeling of being detached or numb, sleep problems or an exaggerated startle response. They may have trouble feeling affection and lose interest in things they once enjoyed. They may feel irritable and sometimes get aggressive or violent. They may avoid certain places or situations that bring back the distressing memories of the trauma and the anniversaries of the traumatic event can be difficult for them.
PTSD is often accompanied by depression, anxiety or substance abuse. A person with PTSD may have trouble working or in social situations. The symptoms may be worse if the trauma was deliberately initiated by anther person such as a kidnapping, rape or torture. Not every traumatized person gets PTSD or the full-blown PTSD. The symptoms have to last more than a month and usually develop within 3 months of the trauma. The course of PTSD can vary. A person can recovery within 6 months or the symptoms can last much longer and become a chronic condition. Occasionally the symptoms of PTSD do not show up until years after the trauma has occured.
Most people with PTSD are helped with medication and psychotherapy which will be discussed here in a subsequent posting.
I am suffering from this affiction and desiring online/realtime counciling. I self medicate and it hurt everyone that cares for me. Any assistance would be appreciated. I am military circa 1983. VA gives me the run around and just need to talk. \
Thanks,
Hi Dan. I see many people in my private practice that are suffering from PTSD. There are many components to this disorder that affect the individual and the people around them that care for them. Currently the modes of treatment I am able to provide is either in my office, which is located in Winter Park, Florida, or e-mail counseling. At this time, I am not able to provide real-time online counseling, just e-mail counseling, so if that would work for you just let me know.
I am 60 years old and have PTSD which I am just finding out is the problem I was ill. Two years ago I had a nervous breakdown, spent a year in hospital with shock treatments. While in hospital I would not talk to Dr’s about my past, the abuse in the Orphanage, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse in a foster home. My memory was destroyed from the treatments, the last ten years are gone, so I can’t say why I wouldn’t talk to anyone.
I see a shrink once a month for the last 2 years and now I am ready to talk. We had our first sesson yesterday but I am very confused. All he wanted to do was for me to repeat after him a sentence that would surpress my mother {who I hate} into a spot within me. Now this I find weird. Why do I want to put her into myself when I want to get her out of my head, out of my being. As I was leaving he said :we don’t have to talk about details in our sessions. Now I think this is wrong. In order for me to get over the things that happen, don’t I have to talk about what happened. I feel I have to talk about the gory tales so I can understand what hppened to me. I want to talk about what happened. I want to be free, no more dreams or the everyday panic attacks. I feel I need to find another shrink, someone who will listen to me. Its funny, now I am ready to talk, no one will listen. Can you direct me in the right direction.
Great site…keep up the good work.
I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks, 
A definite great read.
Hello Linda,
First of all I am glad that you are reaching out for help in dealing with your PTSD. Many therapists have their own treatment strategies in dealing with different disorders. If you are not comfortable with the therapist you have just seen then you have two options. The first is to talk to the therapist about your concerns to see if something can be worked out. The second option is to start over with another therapist, but first maybe do a quick phone interview to see what therapy techniques they use. Good Luck with your therapy and please do not give up. Therapy has helped many people resolve past traumas. Dr. Tina Cannon
I was in a bad car accident and now suffer from ptsd. I am having a hard time dealing with the feeling of helplessness and also the feeling of being a failure. I hate driving now and have no choice but to drive everyday to and from work. Once at home I bearly leave the house for anything, I really should say bearly leave the bedroom.
Hello Margie,
I am so sorry to hear that you were involved in a bad car accident. Many times after the physical injuries have healed, there is still the emotional or psychological injuries that also need to heal. Have you thought about reaching out to get some professional help for what you are going through now? Dr. Tina Cannon.
I would love to have help, I have no health insurance at the present time. I am on Cymbalta for depression and it helps some with the PTSD. I just wish I knew more people who have gone thru the same thing that I talk to about the way the I feel.
Margie, check with http://www.nami.org and see if they have support groups in your area or you can join an online support group from your home. I hope this helps you. Dr. Tina Cannon
thank you sooooo much
You are welcome!
Thank you for your reply to my post. I am still seeing my therapists but I went to my family Dr. and talked over the problem with him. He has been my dr, for 20 years and I really trust him. He explained about how some therapists works but I still do not feel confortable talking with him. My family Dr. has had courses in mental illness and I am now seeing him once a week. My first session was Tuesday and I felt so good when I left his office. To be able to talk to another person about my past, words cannot say. He still wants be to see the therapists, not to give up on him. So with both of them helping me, maybe I will be free of my past. I sure don’t want to go to Heaven with all my problems. Do you thing God will have therapists there? Thanks Again
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very debilitating condition for anyone who suffers from it. It can massively effect a persons life. I recently attended a seminar on the treatment of Anxiety disorders. They made some important observations about the Neurological effects of this disorder that are worth noting. In the case of PTSD the Brain adapts to the trauma in a way that means it becomes very reactive to the perception of threats. These threats could be internal imaginary or real world threats. Once the threat response is triggered the mind body system goes into an automatic response that will often be innappropriate, over reactive but above all very distressing and disruptive. In this seminar they suggested the Brain can be retrained to be able to respond to threats in ways that are in keeping with the size of the threat. The went on to describe a range of cognitive training exercises that enable the sufferer to mangage the perceptions of threat in ways that are not distressing or disruptive. I found it very interesting.