What is Trauma and PTSD?
Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms someone to the point that it negatively affects their ability to cope. Events that cause such an experience are natural disasters, abuse, violence, and accidents. Even witnessing traumatic incidents happen to someone is considered a traumatic event.
If someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, they have a chance to develop or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. They're even more at risk of developing the disorder if they lack social support, have brain chemistry imbalances, have a genetic predisposition, or have been previously exposed to traumatic events. Do
One may have PTSD if they experience symptoms like nightmares, avoidance of the situation associated with the event, adverse changes in thinking patterns and mood, intrusive memories or flashbacks, and hyperarousal or heightened vigilance. The presence of these symptoms and an assessment of them are usually enough to consider and confirm a PTSD diagnosis.
To treat PTSD, practitioners usually combine medication and therapeutic approaches like Cognitive-behavioral therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both help clients manage their symptoms, process the traumatic experiences, and develop coping strategies.
