Last century we put a new name to what was know as “shell shock’, battle fatigue and war neurosis – Post trauma stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD has been around for aeons and was seen in ancient times.
PTSD was added to the American Diagnostic Services Manual (DSM) in the 1980’s.
PTSD is defined as a mental health condition which can occur after we see or are exposed to a traumatic event – death, serious injury, sexual violence to ourselves or others. PTSD can happen after a singular event or when we have been repeatedly exposed to trauma as in domestic violence, bullying, child abuse – sexual, physical or emotional.
We are aware now that hearing details about devastating and traumatic events repeatedly can lead the the development of PTSD. We call this vicarious trauma. This happened to me as a child. See my video here https://resourcetherapy.com.au/
Emergency workers, first responders, Doctors and therapists can be at particular risk due to increased exposure.
Its important to realise PTSD is treatable, with sound effective and reliable treatment out there. The one I use is Resource Therapy as it has powerful techniques for processing trauma. Being a brief Parts and trauma informed Therapy, Resource Therapy taps into those parts of us that feel trapped, dis-empowered, angry, depressed, anxious and avoidant. Resource Therapy ( RT) is strength based and works to find helping Resources to deal with the future. Free from fear and shame. RT empowers you to feel in control of yourself and feel better.
If you are in Sydney July 29th 6-8pm. I am giving a talk on Trauma Informed Care & Tools for Complex PTSD presentations You have to have registered with the Randwick Mental Health Professionals. Hurry as we are almost at capacity! Here’s the link https://www.mhpn.org.au/
So here are the 7 signs of PTSD. There are more and I will be sharing them soon.
- Flash backs – there can be sounds, visual or emotion. Where our traumatic memory is triggered. Suddenly we are no longer in the present. We are taken over by the part who experienced the trauma with the same levels of emotion – overwhelmed. As an example. My husband raises his voice, i tremble in fear. As a child I grew up in a household with domestic violence. I am back under the table hearing them fighting.
- Intense Anger and Irritability – we can have low tolerance and quick to anger. Road rage is not uncommon here. One client I worked with who wanted to stop their road rage, found it’s roots were in an childhood assault. We resolved the roots of this trauma and she was able to find a calm state to drive with in the future. This sort of trauma memory is what’s called implicit memory. This lies in our subconscious. Resource Therapy works to elegantly resolve these trapped memories rapidly and empower for real results.
- Anxiety and Depression – go hand in hand with PTSD. Disturbed sleep and insomnia are common.
- Inability to Focus – a lack of concentration can affect us on our drive home, our work productivity. Our relationships. Our minds repeatedly return both consciously and subconsciously to the trauma. It clouds oru thinking, we can blame, shame and criticise our self. Feeing helpless and hopeless.
- Physical Ailments – because we feel guilty, shamed, anxious, suspicious and on alert our emotions can play out physically. We can feel nausea, chills, medically unexplained aches and pains, trembling, restriction of movement, shortness of breath, headaches, heart palpitations and panic attacks. This is our bodies way of trying to protect us. We can feel betrayed by our bodies instinctive reactions.
- Isolation and Avoidance – we withdraw from our friends, we turn down invites, we stay home alone. Home may represent a safe zone. If the trauma occurred in the home say in my bedroom, I may start to sleep in the lounge. Avoiding my room. Many clients I have worked with avoid the place or similar settings to where the trauma was. We can feel numb and shutdown, the isolation is internal. We go to work and go through the motions.
- Hyper vigilance – it’s as if we are stuck the teen movie the Hunger Games. There’s a lottery where the children have to fight each other in a dangerous world and it’s last person standing. Not for the faint hearted. We are in survival mode. Our awareness is heightened. We have a hair trigger startle response. We have Resources that are switched on and looking out for us. Our body is in the fight or flight condition almost permanently. Trouble is this takes an emotional toll, strung out. We feel exhausted. Our adrenal system is in overdrive and cortisol levels off the charts. You can see the link then to our physical. emotional and psychological health deteriorating.
The good news is PTSD is treatable. Yay! Resource Therapy is a first line treatment. Tailored to your special situation, its safe, respectful and healing.
The research demonstrates talk therapy is not the most effective treatment here. Exposure therapy may not fully address the underlying root cause. Meditation and mindfulness while useful can form part of an avoidance strategy.
Therapies like Resource Therapy, EMDR, EMIT and EFT access and get results by processing the our trauma stuckness. Find out more today. Book an appointment. Therapists give me a call if you want to help more folks ease their suffering using Resource Therapy. Courses on offer – I have one more space left for the August Foundation 18/19th Sydney.
Thanks for reading. Please comment, reflect and ask me any questions you might have in the comments box below and help others and share via social media and email.
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