What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Did you know June is PTSD awareness month? The American Psychiatric Association estimates that one in eleven people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. Thankfully, Ketamine Infusions have significantly helped people suffering from PTSD.
Defining PTSD
PTSD means Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD has many commonly known names such as shell shock and combat fatigue. While these names give the term PTSD an association with people who have served in the military, there are many different causes. Anyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, or career can be diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Characteristics of PTSD
For people who have undergone a traumatic experience in their life, there are a number of characteristics that point towards a PTSD diagnosis. Experiencing trauma can lead to extreme thoughts and emotional responses months and even years later for people who suffer from PTSD. They often relive the experience that originally caused them an immense amount of pain. The flashbacks can come in the form of night terrors and are often coupled with negative feelings. Negative feelings vary by person. For some, negative feelings are displayed as sadness or anger, but for others they are shown as avoidance. Irritability, outbursts, reckless behavior, and disinterest are also common for people suffering from PTSD.
5 Types of PTSD
Due to the complexity of PTSD with its many causes and individual responses to traumatic life events, PTSD has more recently been divided into 5 subcategories.
Normal stress response is seen as the subcategory with the quickest recovery. People with normal stress response typically see recovery within a few weeks to months with support of loved ones and therapy.
Acute stress disorder is the second subcategory of PTSD. Life-threatening situations that result in acute stress disorder can often be resolved with therapy and medications before developing into more serious PTSD.
Similar to acute stress disorder, uncomplicated PTSD results from a single stressor and can be managed through similar treatments.
Complex PTSD, by definition, develops as a result of undergoing multiple traumatic events. Individuals with complex PTSD are frequently diagnosed with a dissociative disorder due to their behavioral issues.
The fifth subcategory of PTSD is comorbid PTSD, which means a person suffers from co-occurring disorders. Comorbid is common, and the best results are seen when the disorders are treated at the same time.
Living with PTSD
If you have experienced a negative event and have gone more than a month suffering from the characteristics listed above, then you may be living with PTSD. Ketamine Therapy has been a successful form of treatment for people with anxiety, depression, a number of mood disorders, and PTSD. Unlike other medications, the results of Ketamine infusions can be felt within a few hours and significantly improve a person’s mood. The therapeutic effects of Ketamine can be felt by patients due to the increase of neuroplasticity within the brain. Ketamine is regrowing valuable connections in the brain that make for long-term healing.
Isn’t long-term healing the ultimate goal for anyone with a mental health disorder? If you or someone you know are suffering from the debilitating effects of PTSD, then give us a call for your free 30-minute consultation. Break the mental health stigma, and get the help you deserve. One in eleven people may be diagnosed with PTSD, but Ketamine Infusions are a ticket to recovery!