treatment of PTSD

Understanding and Treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be difficult to describe to someone who has not experienced it themselves. It can be difficult to talk about with others and has a significant impact on your life.

Sometimes PTSD shows up through vivid nightmares or lack of sleep. Other times it’s a feeling of alienation among family or worthlessness at work. Often, triggers make the trauma feel so tangible and real, they impede on life’s everyday moments.

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common anxiety disorder that develops after traumatic events, affecting both men and women of all ages. PTSD can affect anyone who has an underlying trauma or stressor. This can include soldiers post-combat, those who’ve experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse, natural disasters, accidents and much more.

One minute you may feel great joy, and the next stress can begin to fuel your anxiety or depression, triggering PTSD. There are also times when it emerges for no reason at all.

Real-Life Effects of PTSD

Picture a traumatic event, then imagine living that experience repeatedly. This is what life with PTSD is for many. Flashbacks from the trauma can be so clear and memorable that they trigger panic attacks and physical reactions. Heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath and hot flashes are common. Coping with PTSD makes working a 9-to-5 job or forging healthy relationships tough. Symptoms can be overwhelming, and sometimes it’s hard to put into words what PTSD feels like.

Coping mechanisms can be a big part of PTSD that aren’t always so healthy. While coping is intended to put into perspective the painful emotions that accompany PTSD, that might not be reality. Drugs and alcohol alter our perspective and mask the real issues - only temporarily. Numb is sometimes the best way to feel when PTSD takes hold. Understanding PTSD - whether that’s for yourself, a family member or neighbor who’s a veteran of war - can make a difference in reducing stigma. Through awareness, treatment for PTSD is the next step.

“Patients are admitted into any level of care in our continuum depending on the severity of their illness,” says Fairbanks Chief Clinical Officer Robin Parsons, MS, LMHC, LCAC, CTRS, ADS. “Women suffering from co-occurring trauma and addiction disorders now have specialized programming so both needs can be addressed simultaneously.”

Parsons says women often cope with trauma by numbing their feelings through substance abuse. Recovery is possible, but if trauma isn’t addressed in treatment, there’s a greater likelihood of relapse. Not everyone with PTSD abuses drugs and alcohol, and not all experience the same symptoms. Some with PTSD are easily startled, over-reactionary and aggressive. Hypervigilance, or extreme alertness, and feeling edgy are also common. Sometimes PTSD lasts a few weeks or months. Long-term PTSD is more severe and wreaks havoc, especially when left untreated. Years, or even decades, of emotional and physical symptoms take their toll.

Moving Forward With PTSD

Community treats PTSD through comprehensive inpatient and outpatient behavioral healthcare. This includes trauma-focused psychotherapy, medications to manage symptoms, and follow-up mental health services. Understanding PTSD, especially how it affects men and women differently, is our goal.

The National Center for PTSD estimates a little over half of all women experience at least one traumatic event in life. Trauma in women is higher for sexual and domestic abuse and childhood neglect. Women are also more likely to have a loved one suddenly die. Statistically, men experience slightly more trauma than women. Recognizing the diversity in PTSD experiences, men’s specialized trauma care is now available at Community Fairbanks Recovery Center. Many counselors are trained as Star Behavioral Health providers to better understand and treat military service members and their families. Fairbanks partners with the Indiana National Guard and Community Health Network to care for service members with substance use disorders.

Where To Get Help With PTSD

If you need immediate help, or may be having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, text IN to 741741, contact us at 317-621-5700, or visit our 24-Hour Crisis page.

Community Health Network offers the most comprehensive behavioral healthcare system in Indiana – including inpatient and outpatient services for youth (ages 5-18), adults and seniors. Community's 24-Hour Crisis line provides phone screenings and/or face-to-face evaluations for psychiatric emergencies.

In Central Indiana, the Community Hospital North Behavioral Health Pavilion provides treatment for PTSD. For non-medical emergencies, enter through the Crisis lobby of the Behavioral Health Pavilion, on the north end of Community Hospital North, 7165 Clearvista Way, Indianapolis, IN 46256. For more information on the Women’s Trauma Program, contact 317-572-9377.

If you’re seeking help with PTSD in Clinton, Howard and Tipton counties, contact Community Fairbanks Behavioral Health Howard at 765-776-8555. Or the Red Cross at redcross.org or 877-272-7337.

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