If you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or love someone struggling with this condition, you already know how constraining the reality of PTSD is. The good news is that with proper treatment, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms lessen over time.
Is successful recovery possible?
Yes, with specialized help you can find your way back to yourself, and leave the trauma and hurt where they belong, in your past. Because no two individuals respond the same way to a particular therapy, you may need to explore various treatments. However, patience and trust that healing is possible, are the two main ingredients as you regain your mental and emotional health.
Choosing the PTSD treatment that works for you
Depending on the type of trauma you experienced, your history, and the mechanics of your mind, a qualified specialist can recommend a specific treatment. Sometimes, a combination of therapeutic approaches will work for you.
Psychotherapy for PTSD
Sharing your story in a safe space does wonders for your mental health. More than often, a compassionate therapist will show you a way out of the world of trauma, by showing you how the traumatic event perturbed your emotions and thoughts. This is what cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) does, and that’s why it represents such an effective tool in treating PTSD. Through CBT you can change the mental patterns that kept you in the loop of the traumatic event for such a long time.
EMDR and its effects on PTSD
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an interactive psychotherapy that reduces stress, balances emotions and accelerates the healing in the brain. How does EMDR work? As you go into the traumatic memory, the therapist diverts your attention by directing your eye movement, by tapping or audio stimulation. This combination happens to be very productive, as new associations are produced in the brain. In time, the mind learns that the trauma you experienced impacts you less than it did in the past.
Hypnotherapy for PTSD
Hypnosis is a great alternative to conventional therapy. In the trance state induced by the hypnotherapist, you can safely revisit the traumatic memories, and access parts of your mind that might have been blocked. The hypnotherapist helps you discover what triggers you into reliving the traumatic event, and can teach you how to respond more, and react less. Tests have shown that hypnotherapy can effectively alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
“We don’t heal in isolation, but in community.” – S. Kelley Harrell
If shocking, terrifying or dangerous situations cause post-traumatic stress disorder, what does it take to heal from it? Connection, self-compassion and understanding replenish your mental and emotional resources, as you slowly discover how to welcome people and experiences back into your life. Post-traumatic stress disorder disconnects and keeps you isolated and in pain. But as you integrate the traumatic event, you begin to anchor yourself more in the present, and leave in the past what doesn’t serve you. If you managed to survive the traumatic event, you are now more than worthy to thrive!
To read about how I help my clients cope with PTSD, click this link