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PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) Treatment

It is estimated that 1 in every 20 men and 1 in every ten women will go through PTSD at some point in their life.

At Refresh Recovery mental health treatment San Diego, we believe that using evidence-based practices and cognitive and behavioral toolsets can positively affect PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. Read more to understand symptoms and answer any questions you have on whether you have PTSD if it’s time and appropriate to reach out or understand the disorder better.

Post-traumatic stress syndrome, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is an emotional condition that tends to follow a traumatic event, creating incredible feelings of horror, helplessness, and fear.

Any event that involves experiencing or witnessing actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence is potentially traumatic. Most people will recover quickly. For others, the effects can be long-lasting.

Traumatic Experiences

From Assault to Sexual Abuse

Traumatic experiences include:

  • physical assault
  • sexual abuse
  • serious accidents
  • wars
  • floods
  • fires
  • earthquakes and
  • other natural disasters.

Traumatic events include things that happen to you directly or to someone you are close to.  For example:

Life-threatening events, Injuries or Death

If you learned that a friend or family member was involved in a life-threatening event, was seriously injured, or died suddenly.

Disasters and Accidents

If you were the first on the scene of a natural disaster or after a profoundly serious accident

How do you know if you are suffering from PTSD?

PTSD Symtpoms

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include the reexperiencing of the trauma either through disturbing memories or, in acute cases, through a flashback in which the trauma is relived at full emotional intensity.

People with PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, often report a general feeling of emotional numbness, increased anxiety, and restlessness. They avoid specific situations, thoughts, and feelings that remind them of the incredible experience.

While it is normal to experience such reactions at a certain degree following trauma, they must last for at least four weeks to be considered symptoms of PTSD. People with PTSD often experience depressionanxiety, and alcohol or drug abuse.

At Refresh Recovery PTSD treatment San Diego, we are aware that mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety may be accompanied by addiction to drugs such as opiates, benzodiazepines, or meth, among others, so we attend dual diagnosis in a parallel manner to make sure each variable is recognized and provided with the right therapeutic tools. Are you wondering if the sadness you’re experiencing might be more than just downtime and experiences in the past that have impacted these symptoms? Let us answer any questions, such as questioning whether you are suffering from bipolar disorder or depression, regarding mental health at Refresh Recovery addiction rehab and dual diagnosis treatment in San Diego, California.

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Trauma is Not Stress

When something traumatic happens, it is so overwhelming that it is hard to come to terms with what has happened. The experience is likely to be quite different from anything the patient has gone through before.

You might no longer believe that this world is a safe place, that your neighbors are generally good people, or that you are in control of what happens in your life.

When people talk about their world being turned upside down after a traumatic event, they mean these big-picture beliefs are now destroyed.

Trauma is hugely different from other stressful events, like a romantic breakdown or the death of a loved one through natural causes. These events can affect a person’s mental health, but they are different from the above-mentioned traumatic events. Keeping such differences in mind is essential because the therapeutical treatments to help people recover from trauma are different from those generally used for mental health problems caused by the hindrances of everyday life.

PTSD Statistics and Brain Chemistry

Female victims are especially likely to develop PTSD following rape or other forms of sexual assault. Combat exposure is the most common cause of PTSD in men in the United States.

A major disaster or traumatic event can cause PTSD on a large scale. For example, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, almost 8% of New Yorkers who lived in the general area of the disaster suffered from PTSD. The disorder is most likely to develop among people who have little social support and fail to find a new way of eventually understanding what happened to them.

Studies employing positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown that people with symptoms of PTSD have altered activity in the brain, primarily in the regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and anterior cingulate gyrus. This altered activity reinforces the brain’s ability to recall brain’s traumatic memories, thereby making it difficult for people with PTSD to break the pattern of negative memory recall.

A test known as synchronous neural interaction (SNI) can effectively distinguish between the patterns of abnormal brain activity seen in persons with PTSD and the typical brain activity observed in healthy persons.

Roughly 13% of people with PTSD have increased levels of a kinase (a type of regulatory enzyme) called CDK5 (cyclin-dependent kinase 5). Typically, CDK5 works with other proteins in nerve cells to regulate brain development, and its absence facilitates the elimination of memories associated with fear. In people with PTSD, the elevated levels of CDK5 interfere with and prevent fear-extinction and delay the ability to control emotional states and reactions when a traumatic memory is remembered.

At Refresh Recovery PTSD treatment San Diego we believe that following a traumatic event can be reduced by early mental health and psychological interventions that encourage a sharing of emotional experiences concerning the event and optional medication-assisted treatment if required. We’re here to help and unWe’reand how overwhelming it can be as well as the necessary trust to begin stepping towards healing.

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PTSD Treatment

Let Refresh Recovery Provide a Personalized Treatment Program for You

If you or someone you care for suffers or believe may be suffering from PTSD or dual diagnoses such as substance use disorders or addiction, let us at Refresh Recovery answer any questions you have on diagnosis, treatment, and the right step towards getting help. A personalized program and options are made to your needs, and at Refresh Recovery, we look forward to creating a space of non-judgment and care for your healing.

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