Looking for help for PTSD in Orlando? Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that’s more common than you realize. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs it “can occur after you have been through a trauma. A trauma is a shocking and dangerous event that you see or that happens to you. During this type of event, you think that your life or others’ lives are in danger.”
About seven to eight percent of U.S. adults will experience PTSD in their lifetime, with nearly eight million who’ve gone through trauma experiencing it every year. Knowing the symptoms and risks will help you be informed about treatment options.
Living with PTSD
Living with someone afflicted with posttraumatic stress disorder takes love, patience, and commitment to help that person deal with the symptoms. The physical and psychological effects can be like a runaway train, picking up more speed and the ability to do damage if it’s not stopped. PTSD affects about eight percent of the U.S. population, with first responders and soldiers at greatest risk.
How do you help someone with PTSD?
- Let your loved one talk when ready.
- Try and maintain a “normal” schedule of daily activities.
- Let your loved one tell you what he or she is comfortable talking about or doing.
- Be patient.
- Get educated about PTSD.
- Take care to manage your own stress levels.
- Accept mixed emotions.
- Intrusive memories
- Avoidance issues
- Negative alterations in mood and thinking
- Changes when dealing with emotional and physical reactions
- Intensity of the symptoms you’re experiencing
- You survived a mass-shooting or other trauma.
- The trauma repeats and has a long duration.
- First responders and medical professionals on the front lines of COVID-19 carry a higher risk of developing PTSD.
- There’s a history of anxiety, depression, or other mental disorder among blood relatives.
- People who “drown” their sorrows in alcohol or misuse drugs to minimize symptoms.
- You’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or another mental illness.
- You have a small or non-existent emotional support network to rely upon.
- Some forms of therapy, like Cognitive therapy, try and help those who feel like they’re stuck in a loop of repeated symptoms such as flashbacks or negative thoughts.
- Exposure therapy is designed to minimize emotional or physical distress someone feels when confronted with a memory, situation, or objects.
- A doctor or therapist may try guided eye movements and exposure therapy which focus on traumatic memories and how to process them.