Providing Best Treatment for OCD and other mental health Issues I

Mindsight Manager India

Call: 8920621927

Providing Best Treatment for OCD and other mental health Issues I

OCD Treatment by our licesnce Psychologist, Tharapist, Counsellor

Childhood Problems

Your child deserve healthy life

Post-traumatic stress disorder, we all have heard of this term, right? As the name suggests, this is a disorder, where an individual suffers from traumatic memories and flashbacks of an event that was highly disturbing to the person. These events are extremely threatening and horrifying to the person and possess the ability to shake him/her from the inside completely. It's usually difficult for the person to function well in his/her day-to-day life. It not only disturbs the professional but personal life of the person as well. Let us delve deeper into understanding what exactly it means, the underlying factors behind it, its types, and how seeking help from a professional contributes to the growth of an individual.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER:

PTSD means the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural response of a person to an extremely threatening situation that leaves lasting marks on an individual's life. A person can experience this trauma directly or witness it as an observer. It can also happen if the person is not able to move on from the experience and is repeatedly exposed to the details of the event. It can profoundly affect an individual's mind. Though the symptoms subside within one month, if they are present for more than one-month, professional help should be taken. Let us see a list of events that can cause such kind of trauma: -

· Death of a loved one,

· Sexual violence,

· Physical or emotional abuse,

· Military Combats,

· Wars,

· Severe Accidents,

· Natural disasters,

· Terrorism,

· Domestic Violence,

· Torture,

· Chronic Health Conditions etc.

According to DSM-5, the following symptoms must be met to get a diagnosis of PTSD: -

· Intrusion: It simply means that the person experiences recurring images of the experienced event, he/she can have nightmares, flashbacks, and recurring thoughts about the event.

· Avoidance: It has been seen that people who have experienced trauma, usually try to avoid those situations which trigger their memories related to the event.

· Negative Alterations: Changes in mood and emotions can be seen. For example, negative emotions, shame, guilt, blaming oneself or others for whatever happened, and feelings of detachment are also experienced.

· Arousal and Reactivity: This means that the person is hypervigilant for his surroundings, is

startled by little noise, is usually aggressive towards people, and also shows reckless behaviour.

WHAT HAPPENS IN POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER:

In this disorder, people experience a range of symptoms which are as follows: -

Behavioural Symptoms: The following behaviour symptoms can be seen: -

· Avoiding people, places, activities, conversations, objects, and situations that trigger memories.

· Lack of interest in pleasurable activities

· Irritability

· Anger

· Self-destructive behaviour,

· Inability to concentrate,

· Difficulty in Sleeping or staying asleep.

· Startling from little things.

· Increased vigilance for the environment.

Cognitive Symptoms: The following Cognitive symptoms can be seen: -

· Recurrent traumatic memories,

· Distressing dreams,

· Flashbacks,

· Lack of Memory,

· Negative belief patterns about oneself and others,

· Living in a state of constant horror

· Feelings of detachment,

· Inability to experience positive emotions.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be differentiated into the following types: -

· ACUTE STRESS DISORDER: This disorder can develop after a traumatic event, and usually lasts between 3 days and 1 month after the event is experienced. For example: a car accident.

· DISSOCIATIVE PTSD: It has been recently added to DSM 5. This type is marked with dissociative features like depersonalization (seeing oneself outside of the body) and derealization (feelings of unreal surroundings).

· UNCOMPLICATED PTSD: This form of PTSD is similar to other forms, except that it isn’t accompanied by other mental health disorders like depression or Dissociative Disorders.

· COMPLEX PTSD: It is a form of PTSD, where an event occurs multiple times again and again over some time such as childhood trauma or domestic violence.

CO-MORBID PTSD: Individuals with PTSD, not only suffer from the symptoms of PTSD but also with the symptoms of some other mental disorders like, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and substance use disorder.

CAUSES POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

As we know it is caused because of result of some trauma. So, a person has to have experienced a traumatic event or witnessed a traumatic event in their life to develop PTSD. However, if we look from a different viewpoint, there are many army veterans, men, women, children, and old adults, who even after going through a difficult situation not necessarily experience this disorder. Thus, we can conclude that there are also several other factors which play contribute to the development of PTSD. Let us look at those factors below: -

Following are the various causal factors that cause PTSD: -

· A person’s job is very significant. A military official has a comparatively higher chance of experiencing trauma than a music composer

· Family history of a mental disorder like substance abuse, depression, and anxiety-related problems,

· Low level of education,

· Certain personality traits like neuroticism,

· Being a female possesses a higher risk factor for PTSD,

· Having a mental health disorder in childhood like conduct disorder anxiety issues or depression.

· Low levels of social support,

· Pessimistic view of their life,

· Low self-esteem

· Being a member of a minority group,

· Returning to a negative and unsupportive social environment.

HOW TO DEAL WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Thinking about what a person might be going through after such horrible experiences, is unimaginable. However, there are ways to deal with this difficult situation like to keep oneself busy and engaged in daily activities. Talking about our experiences and sharing emotions with loved ones can also be good for enhancing mental health and moving forward. Also, it is very important to not let that situation overpower you, there will be times of sadness and guilt, but always remember that if you believe you can achieve it. Some people overcome this situation with the help of their friends and family. However, there are some people, who fail to do so. What do we don’t then?

A mental health professional will not only be an empathetic ear to your experience but also will help you develop effective coping strategies for your situation. They will also help you in getting back to your life and help you identify your emotions and strengths which can help you in moving forward.

Mental health professionals use a group of techniques to help their clients, some of which are mentioned below: -

COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING: It is a technique in which your therapist will help you identify all your negative ways of thinking. it will help you understand all those self-defeating statements that you tell yourself, constructively change them, and give you a new perspective on life.

EXPOSURE TREATMENT: In this therapy, your therapist will help you face all those disturbing memories in a safe space so that you can build resilience and develop coping mechanisms. It can be really helpful for nightmares and flashbacks.

GROUP THERAPY: The goal of this type of therapy is to encourage people who have similar experiences to share their stories and their experiences with other people. So, that it can motivate and help other people who have experienced similar kind of situations.

In conclusion, there is nothing that can compare to the trauma a person faces in their lifetime. It can impact us in ways that cannot be comprehended easily. If given, a choice all of us would want to go back in time and change it but that is out of our hands. What we can do is, sit with our emotions, understand them, learn from them, and move forward. Life never stops for anyone and therefore, we, as individuals should also try moving forward and living it to the best of our abilities. The focus should always be to be kind to yourself during difficult times and have faith and positivity.