PTSD Therapy in San Diego, CA
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What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric condition that directly results from a traumatic or severely distressing event(s) or situation. This can include such events as a terrorist attack, serious road incidents, military combat, violent attacks. Furthermore, PTSD can occur after sexual abuse, rape and emotional abuse.
Many individuals who experience a traumatic event can often be seen to have difficulty coping or adjusting back to everyday day-to-day life again. A person experiencing PTSD will often relive the traumatic experience via flashbacks and nightmares, leading to further feelings of guilt, isolation, and irritability.
Symptoms can become so severe that individuals can no longer perform daily activities. However, the correct treatment for your individual experience, people can be seen to live a high-quality everyday life with their loved ones.
PTSD affects approximately 3.5% of US adults every year, with an estimated 1 in 11 people diagnosed with PTSD within their lifetime.
If you are diagnosed with PTSD, you will often be told if you have severe, moderate or mild PTSD, further determining what treatment style you are offered to improve your symptoms. Additionally, your diagnosis may be described with the following description:
The signs and symptoms of PTSD
The symptoms of PTSD are both physical and psychological: usually developing within the first month of the traumatic event; however, symptoms can appear up to a year later.
PTSD symptoms can be grouped into four categories, Avoidance, intrusive memories, adverse changes in mood and thinking, and changes in emotional and physical reactions.
While signs and symptoms can vary from person to person, living with the disorder can have a significant adverse effect on your ability to function in daily life, particularly if you suffer from extreme and persistent symptoms.
Below we have listed the most common experience symptoms experiences by those that have been diagnosed with PTSD.
Mental signs and symptoms to look out for:
Unable to relax
Dread
Constant worrying
Insomnia
Panic attacks
Moods
Irritable
Nervous
Derealisation
Depersonalisation
Restless
On edge
Physical signs and symptoms to look out for
Nausea
Pins & needles
Teeth grinding
Headaches
Dizzy
Hot flushes
Irregular heartbeat
Aches & pains
No sex drive
Panic attacks
Sweating
Shortness of breath
Dry mouth
The initial cause of PTSD will often be apparent after a particular traumatic event or situation; however, it is still to be determined as to why some people go on to develop the disorder further while others who may have experienced the same or similar circumstance will not go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
While not every person who experiences a traumatic and distressing experience develops PTSD, several risk factors can increase the chances. This is caused by a complex mix of:
Here at Park Mental Health San Diego, we completely understand that living with the severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder can have a significant adverse impact on your daily life. Our Park Mental Health specialists are ready to take the first steps and speak through your situation while discussing the various treatment options available. Additionally, we will devise a bespoke treatment plan tailored to your specific goals, needs, and requirements to help relieve the disorder’s symptoms.
With PTSD, individuals will often experience additional mental health issues such as generalized anxiety, depression, and panic attack, which will further enable the individual to withdraw from life and any social activity, which will further develop the mental health disorders.
Post-traumatic stress disorder can be effectively treated even if symptoms arise months or even a year after your initial traumatic situation. With a range of tailored treatments available for you here at Park Mental Health, we will have the severity of your symptoms decreasing and the overall wellbeing and mental health increasing.
If you have found yourself or a loved one experiencing any of the signs or symptoms of anxiety, please do get in contact with a member of our team to receive the care and help you need.
In the aftermath of a traumatic event, many people will often suffer from PTSD symptoms immediately from being unable to stop thinking about the situation that happened to feel fearful, depressed, guilty, angry, and anxious all at the same time. This can leave an individual feeling completely overwhelmed and confused; however, this is an entirely normal reaction for a human experiencing a traumatic event. Unfortunately, most people who have been exposed to trauma do not begin to develop any PTSD symptoms until long in the future.
Receiving timely help and support from a medical professional will significantly decrease the likelihood of an individual developing PTSD. However, there are additional activities you can follow which will further help you; this can take form as:
- Actively seeking out professional help for a brief therapy course
- Reach out and surround yourself with trusted friends and family who will support you
- Do not turn to drugs or alcohol
- Some individuals often turn to their faith community
- Express your emotions to loved ones and medical professionals
- Take care of your physical and mental well being
- Keep a journal of your when you symptoms are worse than normal. This is an effective way to identify situation, people or activities that may be triggering for you
Attending therapy sessions for PTSD can help give your life structure and support through stressful and challenging situations. Park offers a range of therapy treatment options; in particular cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness are the most effective treatments for PTSD.
This specific therapy can be helpful to develop practical ways of dealing with your PTSD. Therapy can further help you develop:
- Communication skills
- Learn how past or even current situation may have been starting point that led to the development of unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors, all of which could be maintaining your distress
- Build or re-build healthy relationships with loved ones
- Develop new skill sets to handle intense emotions that may be disrupting your living life the way you chose
- Build your confidence to handle any challenging situations that may come your way
PTSD is a complex disorder that affects each one of us differently, which is why we offer bespoke evidence-based approaches to help you develop skills effectively to aid you in breaking the negative cycles.
Depending on the severity of the person’s PTSD, it is common for medication such as psychotropic to be prescribed along with therapy. Additionally, antipsychotic medication may be prescribed mainly second-generation if you have an underlying psychiatric condition like bipolar or schizophrenia. There is never any shame in taking medication to help cope with the symptoms of your PTSD.
Many people do not enjoy taking medication for their disorder and believe they have to hide; however, there is never any shame in taking medication to help cope with the symptoms of your PTSD.
Due to each experiencing unique symptoms, receiving the best results requires analyzing each person to the most effective medication. Our medical professionals at Park will constantly research and finetuning treatment to ensure the individual response is at maximum effectiveness.
To ensure you receive the best results, your progress must be measured periodically. This allows us to make informed decisions based on data regarding your treatment.
Medication can often be prescribed as the first line of treatment for PTSD. Mediation is an effective way to deal with your symptoms, whereas therapy treatment will delve into your mind to understand your root cause of the mental health disorder.
In the beginning, individuals will want to calm their PTSD symptoms before they understand the complex reasons why they may be suffering. Below we have a list of medications we often prescribe to our customers:
Fluoxetine
Paroxetine
Sertraline
Venlafaxine
Antidepressants
Beta-blockers
Antipsychotics
Benzodiazepines
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
Getting started has never been so simple.
Together we will help you feel like yourself again. By following the below three steps, we can get you on the road to recovery. We are looking forwards to meeting you and working on understanding how we can effectively benefit your life.
Insurance Verification
Every diagnosis is different. That is why we provide a personal consultation with our clinical team to carefully build a treatment plan tailored to you.
Personal Consultation
Every diagnosis is different. That is why we provide a personal consultation with our clinical team to carefully build a treatment plan tailored to you.
Admission
Our experienced admissions team will assist you in making sure your transition to our facility is a quick, simple and easy process.