What is post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), also known as shell shock or battle fatigue, occurs when the brain struggles to deal with anxious feelings and thoughts after experiencing or witnessing a trauma
Key takeaways
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), also known as shell shock or battle fatigue, occurs when the brain struggles to deal with anxious feelings and thoughts after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event or series of events. PTSD is often associated with veterans, but 50% of all people will experience a traumatic event at least once in their lifetime, and 20% of those people will develop PTSD.
After experiencing a traumatic event, such as being in a major car accident or being the victim of a burglary, it is entirely normal to react with shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and possibly even guilt. Typically, these reactions subside over time. However, a person may continue to experience intense feelings and have disturbing thoughts long after the trauma has passed, which interferes with their daily lives. In that case, they may have PTSD and should seek psychiatric treatment.
PTSD symptoms
PTSD is not diagnosed immediately after exposure to trauma. Rather, a person may be diagnosed with PTSD if they still experience symptoms months after a traumatic event. Mental health professionals diagnose PTSD based on the following symptoms, behaviors, and conditions as listed and defined in the DSM-5:
Re-experiencing symptoms
- Flashbacks that cause you to feel like you are going through the event again
- Nightmares
- Frightening thoughts
Avoidance
- Staying away from places, events, and objects that serve as reminders of the trauma. A car accident might cause you to stop driving, for example.
- Avoiding thoughts and feelings associated with the trauma. For example, you might try to stay busy to avoid thinking about what happened.
Alterations in cognition and mood
- Being easily startled
- Feeling tense or "on edge"
- Having difficulty sleeping
- Having angry outbursts
Alterations in arousal and reactivity
- Trouble remembering important things about the traumatic event
- Negative thoughts about yourself or the world
- Feelings of guilt and self-blame
- Loss of interest in something you enjoyed
- Difficulty concentrating
These symptoms can lead to significant impairment in a person’s life, whether socially, professionally, or otherwise, and may require psychiatric treatment.
Related article: Can you have PTSD and anxiety?
Treatment options for PTSD
Psychological and biological reactions to trauma can be intense and painful. Some people live their lives with few or no symptoms, while for others, the intensity and pain persist. Traumatic psychological wounds can be challenging to treat with medication alone, so the most effective treatment usually involves both medication management and psychotherapy.
How Talkiatry treats PTSD
Medication management
Talkiatry may recommend medication management as a tool to help manage your reaction to trauma. Medication can help people dealing with PTSD control and relieve their symptoms, allowing them to participate more effectively in psychotherapy.
Antidepressants, including SNRIs and SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), are commonly used to treat PTSD. Talkiatry may also prescribe medications to manage anxiety, physical agitation, nightmares, and sleep disorders.
Psychotherapy
Typically, our PTSD specialists will recommend the use of medications alongside various psychotherapy treatments, such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This form of talk therapy can help you understand your feelings, process the traumatic event, and change your negative thinking patterns.
- Exposure therapy. During exposure therapy sessions, patients will relive aspects of trauma in a safe environment to help desensitize and break patterns of avoidance and fear.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Our PTSD specialists may recommend this trauma-specific therapy to relieve anxiety and stress caused by trauma. EMDR therapy involves briefly exposing patients to traumatic memories while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus, such as combining the patient's eye movements with the therapist's hands.
With PTSD, the risk of developing a depressive disorder is three to five times greater. Therefore, we encourage you to take our online assessment to match with one of our psychiatrists who has experience treating your diagnosis. With Talkiatry’s PTSD specialists, you'll receive the personalized care you need.
Take the next step with Talkiatry
Our providers offer comprehensive mental health solutions that are local, accessible, and in-network. Talkiatry connects the traditional way of treating PTSD with modern technology, scale, and efficiency to provide a healing environment that provides the most effective outcomes.
If your feelings and reactions to a traumatic event have become unmanageable for you, we're here to help! At Talkiatry, we have psychiatrists and nurse practitioners trained in various modalities that specialize in treating PTSD. Our free assessment will give you a preliminary diagnosis and provide more information about your symptoms. Then, based on that diagnosis, we'll match you with one of our psychiatrists who can provide you with the treatment you need to manage PTSD.
Take the assessment today to get started.
Talkiatry is a mental health practice, and our clinicians review everything we write. However, articles are never a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you think you may need mental health help, talk to a psychiatrist. If you or someone you know may be in danger, call 911 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 right away.
