PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post Traumatic Sress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder. People experiencing PTSD have been exposed to an extreme traumatic stressor. PTSD develops in some people who experience a threat of death or injury to him or her self or to another person. Sometimes PTSD is caused by the trauma of learning about a loved one’s violent death. The person with PTSD feels helpless about the situation. Many of our county’s military men and women experience PTSD and I thank them for their courage in completing their missions and serving our country. Many other individuals are also at risk for PTSD because they experienced sudden life threatening events such as car accidents, extreme weather events, assault and sexual traumas.
Some of the symptoms of PTSD include:
- Re-experiencing the event in nightmares
- Distress when exposed to reminders of the event
- Efforts to avoid anything that reminds the person of the event
- Feeling numb
- Problems sleeping and concentrating
- Outbursts of anger
- Being easily startled
Finding relief form PTSD is possible. Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing or EMDR is an effective treatment that can help you if you are suffering from PTSD. EMDR harnesses the brain’s natural healthy ability to reprocess the event. This helps to decrease the symptoms you may be experiencing and builds your ability to accept the past and live for the present.