6 Ways to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can prove detrimental to the life of the victim. Hence, it must not be taken lightly. We give you some of the ways in which you can effectively treat this disorder.
1. Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy
In this therapy, the person is asked to slowly and carefully expose himself/herself to situations, feelings, emotions, and thoughts that are reminders of the traumatic event. An important aspect of this cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD is to identify those thoughts about the event that are distorted and irrational and replace them with a picture that is slightly more balanced.
2. Family therapy
Family therapy proves very effective since PTSD not only affects you but also your near and dear ones. As a result of this type of therapy, those who are close to you would understand what exactly you are going through. It also leads to a better communication between the family members and equips them to help each other come out of the problems that are caused by the symptoms of PTSD.
3. Medication
One of the main aims of prescribing medication to someone with PTSD is to alleviate secondary signs of anxiety or depression. Some of the commonly used medications are antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft. Just remember that such antidepressants may help you feel less depressed, troubled, or on top of your game but they are not a cure for the causes of PTSD. One should be very careful so as to not get dependent on such medications.
4. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
This type of treatment involves aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy along with eye movements. It also has some forms of rhythmic, left-right stimulation and it could be something like sounds or hand taps. The thought behind such an incorporation is that eye movements and other bilateral sorts of stimulation aid in “unfreezing” the brain’s information processing system, which might have been interrupted while experiencing intense trauma.
5. Prolonged Exposure Therapy
In this kind of therapy, the person is given imaginal exposure. Instead of avoiding going back to the thoughts of the traumatic event, the person is motivated to recount the experience repeatedly and for a prolonged duration.
6. In Vivo Exposure
By systematically confronting thoughts, situations, and activities that are reminders of the trauma or are directly related to it, despite being safe, you can come out of PTSD. The process enhances the emotional processing of the trauma and eventually ensures that you no longer experience anxiety or avoidance behavior by going back to stressful memories and situations.
