Are There Different Types Of Ptsd

Ptsd Drugs: Possible Options

Doctors may prescribe medications other that Zoloft and Paxil, especially if comorbid disorders exist. According the NIH, benzodiazepines are used to aid relaxation and sleep. The side effects include problems with memory and the risk of drug dependency. Antipsychotics may be prescribed. They are typically given to patients with coexisting conditions, such as schizophrenia. Some side effects of antipsychotics are weight gain and a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, other antidepressants may be used as PTSD drugs. Possible options are fluoxetine and citalopram .

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing

Developed specifically for PTSD sufferers, EMDR is an integrative psychotherapy treatment. Its been scientifically proven to help treat victims of trauma.

With EMDR, youre guided by a trained therapist who desensitizes you to your triggers. The therapist may lead you through a set of eye movements, finger-tapping, or other forms of stimulation to shift focus away from your trauma.

How Different Types Of Ptsd Can Be Treated

If you have not been the victim of an incident directly, then to be a witness of such a traumatic event can be shocking and traumatizing. Also its flashbacks can affect your normal life. But if you are a PTSD patient, then the scenarios can be more dangerous. You might get unremitting flashbacks of the event that may lead you to have continuous nightmares that eventually affect your memory in the long run.

The two therapies you can undergo to treat PTSD or its types are: cognitive and prolonged exposure therapy. These therapies usually have three main goals:

• Help you handle your symptoms carefully
• Regain and rebuilt your self-confidence
• Improve your symptoms

Therapies are based on the condition of a primary victim. In most cases, family group therapies are quite useful for people suffering from the normal stress response, or uncomplicated PTSD type. For instance, if you are blaming yourself for any unpleasant event, then sorting it out by accepting it in front of the family can be a stress reliever, and can take you out from the trauma.

Read Also: What Disability Does The Good Doctor Have

Pharmacotherapy For Acute Stress Disorder Or Acute Ptsd

Because medications can be easily dispensed and delivered , developing pharmacological prevention of PTSD is of particular interest. At this point, however, there is no good evidence that pharmacological interventions can prevent the development of PTSD. Furthermore, the number and the qualities of current studies are limited.

Specific serotonin inhibitors have been recommended for use in chronic PTSD but their effect on acute stress disorder is virtually unexplored. A randomized controlled study of escitalopram for acute PTSD found no positive effect of that drug over placebo or wait list control. The small study sample, however, calls for larger replications.

Minor tranquilizers are often used to abate anxious responses to life stressors. However, studies of benzodiazepines in recent trauma survivors showed either no beneficial effect or a higher likelihood of subsequent PTSD . Again, these studies are limited by sample size and design, and require large-scale replications.

A retrospective, chart review of the anti-psychotic risperidone, given five days after a traumatic event , suggests that this agent can reduce sleep disturbances, nightmares and hyperarousal. However, these results should be interpreted with caution given the lack of randomized studies.

What Are The Signs Of Ptsd

The Mayo Clinic mentions several reoccurring symptoms, including fearful thoughts, flashbacks and bad dreams. These symptoms can become problematic in a persons life. Some of the avoidance symptoms include difficulty remembering the traumatic event and avoiding reminders of the experience, such as places, people and objects. Hyperarousal symptoms may also arise, such as feeling tense, being startled easily and having trouble sleeping. While it is normal to experience some of these symptoms after a terrible event, symptoms lasting more than a few weeks may be signs of PTSD.

Recommended Reading: How Much Is Va Disability Pay

Ptsd Drug Addiction Dependence And Withdrawal

The Journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians warns about the abuse risk of benzodiazepines. When taken chronically, they can be addictive but they are relatively safe when taken in moderation. If you have a history of substance abuse, benzodiazepines should not be used. It is important that you not cease taking your medication as this can cause withdrawal effects and lead to recurrence of the symptoms of your illness. Instead, ask your doctor about weaning you from the medication. Always consult your doctor about your medication concerns so you can plan an alternative PTSD treatment regimen.

Ways You Can Look After Yourself

The symptoms of PTSD can feel overwhelming. While its important to get professional help, there are things you can try for yourself too.

• Flashbacks can be very distressing. Grounding techniques can help bring you back to the present and feel more aware of your own body. For example, focus on breathing slowly and deeply, carry a small object to touch to comfort you, or describe what youre doing right now in great detail . Tell yourself youre having a flashback and that youre safe now. Get Self Help has more ways to cope with flashbacks.
• Learn ways to relax such as meditating or listening to music.
• Talk to someone you trust. You dont have to talk about the trauma if you dont want to, but you could share how youre feeling right now. PTSD can make it hard to trust and open up to people, so take your time.
• Understand what triggers your flashbacks or other symptoms. This could be places, people, sounds, phrases or smells, for example. Being prepared can help you use self-care tips to look after yourself.
• Look after your physical health. For example, try to eat well, keep physically active and get help with any sleep problems. PTSD can be exhausting so it can be hard to take care of yourself, but feeling better physically will help you feel better emotionally.

PTSD UK has more tips on coping with hypervigilance .

Recommended Reading: How Long Does It Take To Get Disability Once Approved

Targets For Early Intervention

The main target of early intervention is the prevention of chronic PTSD. Effective prevention requires accurate case identification, accessible services, acceptance of care by survivors at risk and efficacious interventions.

Defining candidates for early intervention is the first challenge. Historically, the most popular preventive intervention for PTSD was psychological debriefing, provided to groups of exposed survivors, regardless of initial symptoms. However, systematic reviews and meta-analyses have failed to confirm the efficacy of this technique. Moreover, Mayou et al., reported adverse long-term effects of debriefing. A review of other Interventions for all, such as Education , Collaborative Care and Trauma Focused Counseling similarly concluded that those are unlikely to have a clinically important effect on subsequent PTSD . The collapse of the scientific basis for using trauma-exposure as risk indicator underscores the need better identify the factors that put an individual at high risk and use this information to selectively offer services to those survivors at high risk before offering therapies.

Experiences Of Facing Stigma

There are lots of misconceptions about PTSD. For example, people may wrongly assume it means you are ‘dwelling’ on past events. They might even suggest that you should ‘get over it’ or ‘move on’. But having PTSD isn’t a choice or a sign of weakness, and it’s important to remember that you are not alone.

See our page on stigma and misconceptions for lots of ideas on how to deal with stigma.

Don’t Miss: How Much Does A Person Get On Disability

Are You Looking For A Rehab Center For Veterans In Florida

At Heroes Mile, were here to guide individuals from self-defeating thinking and behaviors to a higher level of social, emotional, and moral awareness. We serve Veterans suffering from addiction and the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress and Military Sexual Trauma while serving in the military, which allows them to forge a path back to a normal life. Contact us today to make an appointment.

for Veterans by Veterans

Acute Stress Disorder And Acute Ptsd

Converging evidence from basic and clinical studies suggests that there is a window of opportunity to help those vulnerable to develop chronic PTSD in the early aftermath of trauma . There is also convincing evidence that preventing chronic PTSD is imperative, because chronic PTSD can be pernicious and disabling for many across the lifespan . Even more alarming, when individuals with chronic PTSD overcome various personal, familial, cultural, economic, and logistical barriers and obtain care, they may still not get the care they need , their problems may be so entrenched that they fail to benefit from formal treatment , or they may drop out of treatment prematurely . Finding early interventions that effectively prevent chronic PTSD is perceived as critical public health mandate .

You May Like: How To Get Short Term Disability Approved

What Are The Different Subcategories Of Ptsd

Its important to note that PTSD is a treatable condition. Mental health professionals use different treatments and therapies to manage the symptoms based on the type of PTSD a person is dealing with.

1. Normal Stress Response

In most cases, PTSD begins with a normal stress response that some people may not even be aware of. However, this doesnt necessarily imply that all normal stress responses develop into a full-blown disorder. Besides affecting the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems, normal stress responses activate the bodys flight-or-freeze response.

Events such as accidents, illnesses, injuries, surgeries, abandonment, and other sources of high amounts of tension and stress can lead to a normal stress response. The body returns to pre-arousal levels only after the threat or perceived threat is over. Normal stress responses usually dont cause disruption to day-to-day life or produce long-term effects.

Sincetalking to someone eases stress and anxiety, effective management of normal stress responses typically involves group therapy and individual psychotherapy sessions. However, the support of loved ones or a larger circle of supporters plays a critical role in the affected persons recovery. If all goes well, normal stress responses can be resolved within a couple of weeks.

2. Acute Stress Disorder

3. Uncomplicated PTSD

4. Complex PTSD

5. Dissociative PTSD

6. Co-morbid PTSD

What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury.

PTSD has been known by many names in the past, such as shell shock during the years of World War I and combat fatigue after World War II, but PTSD does not just happen to combat veterans. PTSD can occur in all people, of any ethnicity, nationality or culture, and at any age. PTSD affects approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. adults every year, and an estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. Women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD. Three ethnic groups U.S. Latinos, African Americans, and American Indians are disproportionately affected and have higher rates of PTSD than non-Latino whites.

People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares they may feel sadness, fear or anger and they may feel detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.

You May Like: How To Get Disability In Nc

Type #: Acute Stress Disorder

Acute stress disorder is an intense, unpleasant reaction that begins shortly after a traumatic event and is a condition that manifests within four weeks.

Their reaction to the event can be mental, physical and emotional, and they should be treated, so it doesnt lead to PTSD. A loss of a loved one, a car accident, and other factors can trigger this disorder, and getting therapy along with medication will greatly help.

They will experience a cluster of symptoms, including recurring and uncontrollable memories of the event and may think they are experiencing the trauma over and over through flashbacks. Irritability, difficulty concentrating and sleep disturbance are signs of acute distress disorder. When either of these stress disorders is not treated or if the traumatic event was severe, it can develop into these types of PTSD.

Active Ingredients Of Therapies

It might be true that pharmacotherapy should be used to create conditions that enable psychological changes in PTSD . Unfortunately there are currently no controlled studies of combined pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in PTSD.

More mundane explanations of the relative poor performance of pharmacological agents in PTSD suggest that, with the exception of SSRIs nothing has been tried systematically and on a large enough scale. Moreover, most SSRIs have been tried for short periods of time, and there is no systematic study of pharmacological augmentation techniques, combination of medication or other means of modulating CNS responses.

Finally one should remember that current pharmacological therapies, despite their imperfections, have major stabilizing effect on the patients life. Stabilizing a chronic PTSD patient is a valuable treatment goal that should not be overlooked.

Recommended Reading: Fox Nation Free For Veterans

Emotional Symptoms Of Ptsd

The emotional symptoms of PTSD are depression, worry, intense guilt and feeling emotionally numb. Another symptom is anhedonia, which is characterized by a loss of interest in formerly enjoyable activities. The National Center for Biotechnology Information states that anhedonia plays a part in predicting psychiatric comorbidity, or the presence of more than one psychiatric disorder.

Are Treatments Different

Treatments for PTSD and C-PTSD are similar. The main treatments are psychotherapy, medication, or a combo of both.

Therapy for PTSD and C-PTSD can help you learn more about your trauma and how it affects you. Therapy can also help you develop coping skills for triggers and give you tools to manage your symptoms.

For some, medication such as antidepressants may also be helpful to manage symptoms.

One difference between the two mental health conditions is that those living with C-PTSD may need long-term therapy and support to recover. Theres also an emphasis on forming a strong therapeutic alliance.

You May Like: How To Reinstate Suspended Social Security Disability Benefits

How Our Helpline Works

For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, the PsychGuides.com helpline is a private and convenient solution.

We are standing by 24/7 to discuss your treatment options. Our representatives work solely for AAC and will discuss whether an AAC facility may be an option for you.

Our helpline is offered at no cost to you and with no obligation to enter into treatment. Neither PsychGuides.com nor AAC receives any commission or other fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a visitor may ultimately choose.

For more information on AACs commitment to ethical marketing and treatment practices, or to learn more about how to select a treatment provider, visit our About AAC page.

If you wish to explore additional treatment options or connect with a specific rehab center, you can browse top-rated listings or visit SAMHSA.

Different Types Of Ptsd: Symptoms And Cures

Post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD was originally thought to be associated with those individuals, who were in the military service. But with the passage of time, PTSD has affected many people across the world. People who suffer from PTSD tend to experience extreme stress levels.

Stress can affect anyone badly and can be life-threatening in most cases. As far as PTSD is concerned, it slightly differs from the acute stress illness, and can last for a long time. It affects your routine life. Different types of PTSD have been recognized which will be discussed later in this article.

With reference to a recent study, approximately, 7.7 million people are suffering from PTSD across the United States and the other 8% population is eventually heading towards the disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder , PTSD is an extreme anxiety disorder that can trigger on account of severe injuries, exposure to sexual violation, the threat of death, or the loss of a loved one.

Indicators can be seen right after the stress episode or can occur even after years. PTSD is a multivariate disorder resulting in a variety of outcomes. Researchers have categorized different types of PTSD according to their symptoms and treatments. The types of PTSD include:

Recommended Reading: Can You File For Disability While Working

Ptsd Treatment Is Not One

If you develop PTSD, it’s not a sign of weakness or something to be ashamed of, Dr. Drummond says. But it is a reason to seek out effective treatment.

“You may feel you are in a constant loop of negativity or feeling that something bad is going to happen,” he says. If symptoms make it difficult to go to work or engage with people, check in with your primary care doctor or make an appointment with a therapist or psychiatrist. If you have an Employee Assistance Program at your job, that’s often an excellent place to seek help. The Veterans Administration has extensive resources for active military members and veterans concerned about PTSD. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming themselves or someone else, should go immediately to the emergency room or call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Medication can act as one part of a larger plan to address symptoms, such as the ones associated with anxiety. Treatment for PTSD usually involves psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both. A special type of eye movement therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing may also help relieve PTSD symptoms. “Those who have experienced physical or sexual trauma many times are better helped by psychotherapy to help them understand and unpack their own emotional response,” Dr. Drummond says. In some cases, group therapy may be more effective than individual therapy.