Without the correct treatments for PTSD, a patient’s life can be extremely miserable. Consider how terrible it’d be to live having a harrowing fear at the back of your mind.
Fulfilling the easiest tasks may become extremely difficult — especially if they are related to the cause of the condition. The simplest changes to an expected event can be difficult to cope with too. Not to take out the fact that social relations are nearly nonexistent.
All these point in one specific direction: PTSD is not a condition to live with. Conscious efforts must be made to cure an affected person.
Possible Treatments for PTSD
There is a range of available treatments for PTSD. Prescription medications are the most studied, with antidepressants, in particular, coming under focus. The agreement among experts is that these drugs work best when combined with psychotherapy.
There are various types of antidepressants for PTSD, including SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) & SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Both drug types are generally used to combat depression and in patients who are PTSD-free but suffering similar symptoms. There’s a particular drug called Prazosin, typically prescribed for persons whose PTSD is linked to anxiety & depression.
However, there are side effects to these medications, which is why many advocate against continuous use. Despite this, we must point out that they can save the lives of some patients. They can also assist recovery when starting natural PTSD treatments. At this point, it is necessary to say that medications do not work for every patient. There are hardly guarantees, plus people react differently to these drugs.
Natural Treatments for PTSD
Fortunately, though, there are natural treatments for PTSD. And these are the ones we consider the best treatments for PTSD. Let’s see the approaches to PTSD that don’t come with potentially harmful aftereffects.
Therapy & Counseling
One of the best ways to help a person who has PTSD is to seek help for them from close ones who can help or professionals in the line.
For a start, the National Institute of Mental Health will provide you with qualified mental health pros or link you with social services workers a lot far from you. Should it be an emergency, say during a major depression, temporary help can be provided by an emergency room doctor.
Psychotherapy has always proven effective in the treatment of PTSD & other mental conditions. Patients can, however, have a hard time adjusting at the earliest stages, with patients reporting that they feel even more distressed at the beginning, but that as they are used to talking about their trauma, they experience remarkable improvement. A particular study found that 86% of members in a group treated to psychotherapy felt very much better at the end of treatment.
The main goals of PTSD therapy include:
- Increasing self-awareness, such that a patient is made to understand the impacts of trauma on their lifestyles;
- Training the patient to regain access to the emotional part of the brain that’s been previously lost;
- Helping the patient to reestablish a definite level of control over their life; and
- Helping to form coping strategies for the difficult emotions.
Desensitization & Direct Exposure to Their Fears
There are various types of therapy used to help a PTSD patient. Key targets of these practices is to desensitize the patient to threats that they cannot withstand, relieve stress & help them handle their fears more appropriately.
One of these methods is exposure therapy. In this technique, the therapist stays at hand to guide the patient as they are exposed to objects, locations, or scenarios that trigger strong memories of their tragedy.
Approaches to these goals of treatment are:
Prolonged exposure
This form of therapy involves the patient dealing with what they are so scared of. This requires deep conversations to help the person exercise control over feelings, physical reactions & upsetting thoughts about the event. The concept here is that the longer a conversation goes on about the trigger event, the more they find it familiar & less strange. Various methods of exposing patients to their fears are writing, reading, painting, imagining & visiting the place the trauma was gained.
Cognitive Restructuring
This is not specifically different from other forms under exposure therapy. It simply involves patients attaching sense to their scary memories by discussing them with a listening ear. Feelings of shame, guilt & regret are typically what the conversations center on.
Yoga & Meditation
A study by the National Institute of Mental Health reported that PTSD patients who participated in a program that spanned ten weeks and focused on yoga & mind-body practices experienced considerably improved symptoms of PTSD, including patients who had hitherto failed to react to every other form of medication.
Yoga tweaks the brain by helping to sponsor the production of happy neurotransmitters, building coping mechanisms for negativities, lessening the impacts of stress & more. People who partook in the study were treated to five particular ways to feel for improved PTSD symptoms. They are symbolized as GRACE, which stands for gratitude & compassion, relatedness, acceptance, centeredness & empowerment.
Also, meditation can help tackle PTSD through controlled breathing, changing mantras with a group -yoga asana, which involves moving purposefully & practicing various meditation styles. More evidence has recently surfaced on the benefits of mindfulness meditation when tackling PTSD.
Social & Family Support
A very effective manner of overcoming PTSD is by building resilience through close relationships & social support.
Ways to build resilience include:
- Visiting the family therapist to get more consideration from family, children, spouse & close friends.
- Joining a support club reduces the feelings of alienation & isolation that come with having no one similar to open up to.
- Joining a faith-based or spiritual group that offers hope, encouragement & positivity.
- Going out of your way to make more compassionate relationships.
Concluding the Correct Treatments for PTSD
Knowing the correct treatments for PTSD can be life-saving at all times. The failure to attend to this mental deficiency on time can only lead to more terrible complications. One may add deliberate self-care management to the list of treatments, but patients who are also depressed find it difficult to do so. What everyone can tell from these approaches to healing is that social relations are critical to escaping PTSD.