4 Ways to Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

1. Consider Psychotherapy

Since treatment aims to control symptoms through behavioral modifications and the reprocessing of traumatic memories, you'll be exposed to various psychotherapy techniques as you treat your case of PTSD. Most treatment programs use a combination of techniques, which are based on your individual responsiveness.

Cognitive-behavior therapy may help you to understand and change the behavior changes caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the most common approach. Since you may suffer from recurring nightmares, flashbacks and graphic "reliving" experiences of the trauma, exposure therapy may be employed. This therapy will force you to face the triggers for your symptoms in a controlled environment until their effects diminish.

Newer therapies and more aggressive approaches to treatment also hold promise if you do not respond to cognitive-behavior or exposure therapy. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be very effective in treating PTSD. Implosive therapy, which is a more extreme approach to exposure therapy, can also treat your flashbacks and reliving experiences.

2. The Importance of Group Support

You can supplement psychotherapy with group therapy and immerse yourself in supportive therapeutic communities, alongside other individuals suffering from PTSD. There's strength in numbers. Many PTSD patients simply feel like they're losing their minds, and group counseling helps reassure and reorient people suffering from the condition. Group sessions also promote patient education, which is vital to helping you overcome the syndrome's most difficult symptoms.

3. Medications Used to Treat PTSD

Since post-traumatic stress disorder might trigger depression, anxiety and panic disorders, drugs are often prescribed. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly administered antidepressant medications for PTSD. However, your doctor may choose more powerful antidepressants, based on your particular needs and symptoms.

Nightmares and sleep disturbances are hallmarks of PTSD. You may experience insomnia and hypervigilance, especially if your trauma occurred at night. Thus, sedatives and sleep aids may be used to reestablish proper sleep patterns.

4. Alternative Approaches to Treatment

Holistic options are also available, if you don't respond as your doctor may have hoped to drugs. One of the most common alternative approaches is meditation, which you can use to guide your thoughts away from trauma and into positive, healthy channels. You may also find yoga a soothing alternative. Finally, you can use specialized breathing exercises to achieve a sense of calm and relaxation if your panic and anxiety symptoms become troubling.