PTSD

About 6% of people experience PTSD, which is characterized by lingering anxiety and distressing flashbacks after experiencing or witnessing a disturbing event. Stress, fear, and a feeling of danger may persist even in normal and safe situations in those with PTSD. Of course it is normal to feel side effects like fear or sadness after a difficult experience, but if you have been struggling with unresolving symptoms interfering with your daily life after a traumatic event, then you may benefit from PTSD treatment.

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An evaluation and diagnosis is the first step to treating PTSD.

Witnessing or personally experiencing a traumatic event can make an imprint on the psyche that lasts far longer than the few seconds it took to happen. Some people manage to cope and adjust. For others, symptoms persist and disrupt their daily life, which necessitates an evaluation for PTSD.

At bonmente, our trauma-focused psychiatrists offer PTSD tests to properly diagnose this mental illness. An accurate diagnosis is the first step in creating and carrying out effective treatment plans for PTSD.

What causes PTSD?

It’s unclear why some people walk away from horrifying experiences feeling victorious and others come away shattered, but PTSD is likely the result of past experiences, personality, genetics, and brain chemistry.

People with anxiety, depression, substance abuse problems, or no strong support system are at a higher risk of PTSD. Those who have experienced childhood abuse or prior trauma are also at increased risk.

Everyone experiences trauma differently, so PTSD can be caused by a range of traumatic experiences.

The most common events leading to PTSD are:

combat exposure
sexual violence
physical assault
threats, especially those involving a weapon
childhood abuse
a major natural disaster
a serious accident

What are symptoms of PTSD?

Some PTSD symptoms may start almost immediately after the traumatic event, while others may not surface for years. They can also vary in their presentation and intensity. Symptoms may be perfectly manageable for a while before suddenly or gradually becoming consuming.

The intensity and unpredictability of PTSD symptoms can affect one’s ability to lead a normal life and cause serious problems in social situations and relationships.

Common PTSD symptoms include:

intrusive memories (flashbacks, nightmares, or distress from triggers)
avoidance of people, places, or activities related to the traumatic event
negative changes in thinking or mood (hopelessness, guilt, shame, detachment, numbness, inability to enjoy activities)
changes in physical and emotional reactions (being easily frightened, hypervigilance, engaging in high risk behavior, drinking too much, trouble sleeping, and angry outbursts)

The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.

– Peter Levine

Should I be treated for PTSD?

The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) was designed for use in primary care settings to screen for post traumatic stress disorder.

PLEASE NOTE: This self-test is not a replacement for professional evaluation. If you are experiencing PTSD, please call us at 310-360-7200 for an appointment.

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How is PTSD treated?

Untreated PTSD can lead to substance abuse, chronic pain, sleep problems, and devastating emotional, social, and economic effects. People with PTSD can lose self-esteem, develop anger-management issues, and are at risk for severe depression.

Over 60% of people with PTSD who get treatment report improvement, and 44% have complete remission from symptoms. At bonmente, patients can get convenient access to PTSD treatment through our telepsychiatry platform, which even allows for e-prescribing.

“PTSD can be devastating to a person – to entire families – but it is treatable,” said Kayleigh Soto, a therapist at bonmente. “With the right combination of therapy and medications, you can get your life back.”

Therapy

Therapy is one of the most highly effective mental-health treatments for PTSD. The most successful therapy modalities for treating PTSD include:

Cognitive therapy (CT) – Helps patients gain a better understanding of trauma’s impact on their lives and acquire new skills for managing thoughts. Mental-health professionals derived this form of therapy from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Exposure therapy – Patients repeatedly talk about the event to decrease its effect.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy – Uses movement or sound to distract the brain while the trauma is discussed and processed. In some studies, over 84% of single-trauma PTSD patients recover in only three sessions. A Kaiser study found 100% recovery for single-trauma patients; also, 77% of multiple-trauma patients experienced full recovery within six sessions. The American Psychiatric Association (APA), World Health Organization (WHO), and the Department of Defense all recognize EMDR as an effective trauma treatment.

Medications

Medications play an important role in many types of mental-health treatment options for PTSD. Common prescriptions for curbing symptoms include antidepressants like SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). FDA-approved medications include sertraline/Zoloft and paroxetine/Paxil, but several other medications used off label can be more effective depending on specific symptoms.

Providers sometimes prescribe prazosin for some patients experiencing PTSD-related nightmares or sleep disturbances.

For treatment-resistant PTSD, ketamine and atypical antipsychotics have also shown promise. Researchers are investigating MDMA-assisted therapy as a potential PTSD treatment, but the latest evidence has not yet garnered FDA-approval.

Medications alone are unlikely to eliminate all PTSD symptoms. However, they can make this mental-health condition more manageable while going through therapy or other treatments.

Do I have PTSD?

The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) was designed for use in primary care settings to screen for post traumatic stress disorder. PLEASE NOTE: This self-test is not a replacement for professional evaluation. If you are experiencing PTSD, please call us at 310-360-7200 for an appointment.

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Sometimes things happen to people that are unusually or especially frightening, horrible, or traumatic. For example: – a serious accident or fire – a physical or sexual assault or abuse – an earthquake or flood -a war – seeing someone be killed or seriously injured – having a loved one die through homicide or suicide. Have you ever experienced this kind of event?

Yes

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In the past month, have you had nightmares about the event(s) or thought about the event(s) when you did not want to?

Yes

3 / 6

In the past month, have you tried hard not to think about the event(s) or went out of your way to avoid situations that reminded you of the event(s)?

Yes

4 / 6

In the past month, have you been constantly on guard, watchful, or easily startled?

Yes

5 / 6

In the past month, have you felt numb or detached from people, activities, or your surroundings?

Yes

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In the past month, have you felt guilty or unable to stop blaming yourself or others for the event(s) or any problems the event(s) may have caused?

Yes