Introduction
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition brought on by trauma. A trauma is a stressful event that makes a person fear for their or other people's life or safety. Trauma events that can lead to PTSD include physical or sexual abuse, assault, school or neighbourhood violence, natural disasters, car accidents, military combat, sudden loss, and more. An event can be a trauma for someone even if they don't go through the danger themselves. For example, seeing someone else be hurt or die from violence can be a trauma.
You can be rest assured that at Skooc, you and your family are in good hands.
Symptoms
Keep a look out for some of the following signs:
Bad memories or flashbacks to the traumatic experience
Remembering or re-experiencing the event,
Increased nightmares or insomnia
Avoiding things or anyone associated with the trauma, increased anger and irritability
Changes in mood, such as feeling sad, moody, angry, or detached
Withdrawing from friends and experiences they used to enjoy
Feeling more easily scared, anxious, jumpy, or easily startled
Having difficulty in school, including trouble concentrating and completing work
Feeling numb or depressed
Not wanting to talk about the traumatic event
Easily triggered by things that remind them of the traumatic event
If you notice recurring instances of a few of these symptoms, we at Skooc recommend a formal evaluation.
Diagnosis
At Skooc, we help you better understand what you are going through. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health counsellors have the experience to work with patients with PTSD. Treatment for PTSD can include therapy and/or medicines to help with anxiety, mood problems, and sleep issues.
In order for a mental health professional to make a PTSD diagnosis, symptoms must last for more than a month and be severe enough to interfere with daily functioning.
Physical exam: To begin a trauma assessment, a physician will do a full exam and ask in-depth questions about the young adult's general health to ensure that there are no underlying physical health issues.
Lab tests: While there is no lab test to determine whether a young adult has PTSD, tests will help rule out any other factors contributing to symptoms of trauma or co-occurring disorders.
Psychological evaluation: A doctor or mental health professional will inquire about your thoughts, feelings, behaviour, and personal history. Your answers will help pinpoint a diagnosis and identify any related complications.
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Next Steps and Intervention
Our team of professional psychologists at Skooc can help you by providing the necessary interventions. Therapy for PTSD is called trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT). This type of talk therapy uses talking and learning activities guided by a mental health therapist. It can help anyone who has been through a trauma, not just people with PTSD.
PTSD therapy often includes:
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) activities: to help with thoughts and feelings about the trauma
Prolonged exposure (PE) activities: to help someone lower anxiety and learn to safely face things they avoid after trauma
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR): combined cognitive therapy with directed eye movements to reduce the power and pain of the trauma. This helps the brain reprocess memory of the trauma. There are therapists who specialize in this type of trauma therapy.