What is PTSD? What is PTSD?Available in Spanish: ¿Qué es el TEPT? Understanding PTSD (PDF) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something terrible and scary that you see, hear about, or that happens to you, like:
During a traumatic event, you think that your life or others' lives are in danger. You may feel afraid or feel that you have no control over what is happening around you. Most people have some stress-related reactions after a traumatic event; but, not everyone gets PTSD. If your reactions don't go away over time and they disrupt your life, you may have PTSD. How does PTSD develop?Most people who go through a trauma have some symptoms at the beginning. Only some will develop PTSD over time. It isn't clear why some people develop PTSD and others don't. Whether or not you get PTSD depends on many things:
What are the symptoms of PTSD?PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years. If the symptoms last longer than 4 weeks, cause you great distress, or interfere with your work or home life, you might have PTSD. There are four types of symptoms of PTSD:
You may have bad memories or nightmares. You even may feel like you're going through the event again. This is called a flashback. You may try to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the traumatic event. You may even avoid talking or thinking about the event. You may find it hard to express your feelings. Or, you may not be interested in activities you used to enjoy. This is another way to avoid memories. You may be jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. This is known as hyperarousal. Can children have PTSD?Children can have PTSD too. They may have symptoms described above or other symptoms depending on how old they are. As children get older, their symptoms are more like those of adults. Here are some examples of PTSD symptoms in children:
What other problems do people with PTSD experience?People with PTSD may also have other problems. These include:
In many cases, treatments for PTSD will also help these other problems, because they are often related. The coping skills you learn in treatment can work for PTSD and these related problems. Will I get better?"Getting better" means different things for different people, and not everyone who gets treatment will be "cured." Even if you continue to have symptoms, however, treatment can help you cope. Your symptoms don't have to interfere with your everyday activities, work, and relationships. What treatments are available?When you have PTSD, dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling others how you feel, you may keep your feelings bottled up. But treatment can help you get better. There are two main types of treatment, psychotherapy (sometimes called counseling) and medication. Sometimes people combine psychotherapy and medication. Psychotherapy for PTSDPsychotherapy, or counseling, involves meeting with a therapist. There are different types of psychotherapy:
Medications for PTSDMedications can be effective too. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD. Another medication called Prazosin has been found to be helpful in decreasing nightmares related to the trauma. IMPORTANT: Benzodiazepines and atypical antipsychotics should generally be avoided for PTSD treatment because they do not treat the core PTSD symptoms. Date Created:
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