Recognizing the triggers and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important step in your recovery process. You don’t have to continue reacting in ways that affect your relationships and your quality of life when the best PTSD treatment is available in New York, New Jersey and Florida at Online Psychiatrists. Each treatment plan is designed with your specific needs in mind, employing an integrative approach to treat both your mind and your body. Call today for an appointment.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that can develop after you experience a trauma. Major traumas include situations in which you suffer a serious threat to your life or witness a frightening event happening to someone else. There are actually three types of trauma:
Events such as being kidnapped, witnessing a murder or a serious car accident, living through a natural disaster or undergoing severe physical or sexual abuse constitute big T traumas. When searching for PTSD treatment in New York, New Jersey or Florida, you’ll find Online Psychiatrists. It’s a psychiatric practice that combines compassion with knowledge and experience to provide the most accurate diagnosis and the best treatment for PTSD.
Not everyone who experiences traumatic events develops PTSD. You typically need to have a big T trauma in your history to receive a diagnosis of PTSD. The condition leads to a host of symptoms that are unique to each individual. Common PTSD symptoms include:
If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of PTSD, it is essential to seek professional help. There are effective treatments available that can help people with post-traumatic stress disorder recover and lead healthy, fulfilling lives.
★★★★★Dealing with PTSD can be overwhelming, but the virtual visits with Dr. Zlatin have made it much more manageable. He's been patient, and supportive, and has helped me find the right medication to help with my symptoms. I highly recommend this service to anyone seeking effective and convenient mental health treatment.
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Book Appointment >Researchers believe that when you experience a serious trauma, the brain may not be able to process and understand what’s happening. So the brain gets stuck and continues to respond as if the threat was still going on even when it has passed. As a result, you’re subject to serious behavioral complications, such as:
But the way PTSD works is also good news because the best PTSD therapy allows you to finish processing the trauma and put it behind you. Helping you understand what’s going on is a specialty of Online Psychiatrists.
Read more: PTSD Examined: The Five Types Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) focuses on finding the beliefs and thoughts that are holding you back and challenging you. The talk therapy then helps you replace them with more positive thoughts. During trauma-focused CBT, you uncover negative beliefs that many trauma survivors develop such as:
Trauma-focused CBT helps you tell a new story about your experience. It involves working on the skills you need to face things like flashbacks, triggers and interpersonal difficulties. Over time, you develop a more accurate and kinder understanding of what happened. Education about PTSD, as well as support group, helps you recognize that you’re not alone and that you can get better.
There are two other therapies that have proven results:
People who have post-traumatic stress disorder can benefit from a variety of psychotherapies. Some address PTSD therapy, while others tackle social, family, or job-related problems. Your PTSD therapist may combine different therapies depending on your unique needs.
PTSD clearly affects both the mind and the body. Nightmares can result in cold sweats. Fearful automatic thoughts can result in adrenaline rushes. Depression can squash your appetite and energy levels. Our expert PTSD therapist treats post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders with an integrative approach to treat all aspects of your condition.
When looking for effective ways to heal and recover from PTSD, choose an expert psychiatrist trained in trauma-focused therapy and offering a customized treatment plan, allowing you to process and contextualize the traumatic life event.
Locate a private psychotherapy practice providing evidence-based PTSD treatment near you, such as Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Dr. Zlatin Ivanov recognizes the numerous ways that post-traumatic stress disorder may disrupt a person's life and is here to help you stabilize and develop the tools to improve and expand your emotional health.
Diet, exercise, and building a routine are part of any PTSD therapy. Because trauma can lead to symptoms that require medication, rely on a psychiatrist who can provide you with ongoing medication management. Сontact Online Psychiatrists in NYC, NJ, and FL, where convenient online telepsychiatry is a specialty.
In addition to the thoughts and feelings identified in the What is PTSD? section, people with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, muscle tension, nausea, joint pain, headaches, back pain or other types of pain. The person in pain may not realize the connection between their pain and a traumatic event. For people with chronic pain, the pain may actually serve as a reminder of the traumatic event, which in turn may intensify PTSD symptoms. Some people who develop PTSD and chronic pain also experience depression and alcohol and prescription medication misuse. Chronic PTSD has been shown to increase the risk of having a variety of health issues and decreased life expectancy.
A person contending with exposure to a traumatic event may feel helpless, prompting a concerned spouse to want to take action to help. Perhaps the most powerful approach is to just be there for the person, show acceptance and concern, and listen without being judgmental or giving advice. Allow your spouse to talk about the trauma only if he or she would like to and encourage additional support from family, friends and faith and community resources. Encouraging healthy living, such as attention to diet, exercise and refraining from smoking and excessive use of alcohol, is important. It would also be a good time to plan relaxing enjoyable leisure time activities.
Take some time to educate yourself about trauma, PTSD and recovery and healing. Learning about what your spouse may be going through will help you and your family to understand better and be more supportive. Remember to take care of your own physical and mental health as well.
Studies have found that in fact most people recover and do not develop PTSD after exposure to a major traumatic event. However some people find themselves feeling worse as time passes and experience the symptoms of PTSD. Several factors before and after a traumatic event seem to increase the likelihood of PTSD. For example, the risk is greater when the traumatic event is more severe, violent, occurs over a longer period of time or involves harm to oneself or loss of a loved one. Being around reminders of the traumatic event can also increase the risk. In general women are more likely than men and younger people more likely than older to experience PTSD. People who had early childhood emotional problems, especially exposure to traumatic events, are more susceptible, as are people who suffer from chronic medical or psychiatric illness.
People react to experience of trauma in a variety of ways, such as sadness, irritability and confusion. In the immediate aftermath of a major traumatic event most people complain of stress, difficulty concentrating, sleeping or getting along with others. With PTSD, the troubling symptoms worsen, affect social and work functioning, and persist longer than a month. If you or a loved one are struggling to cope with the effects of a trauma it would be useful to seek professional help.
Several effective treatment options are available including psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure therapy (PE), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR); and medications, such as the antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Often the combination of medication and psychotherapy is more effective than either form of treatment alone.
A good overview of effective treatment options for PTSD is available from the National Center for PTSD in the publication “Understanding PTSD Treatment.” Specific treatment guidelines are available from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Information on treatment for children is available from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Self-help tools, including PTSD Coach Online and PTSD Coach app, are available from the National Center for PTSD. These offer support for coping with sadness, anxiety and other symptoms that people who have been through trauma can develop. They can help you relax when you feel stressed, improve your mood, learn how to tackle difficult problems and help change thinking patterns.
Years of research suggest that children are vulnerable to developing PTSD after exposure to a traumatic event, though the symptoms may differ for young children, older children, adolescents and adults. The loss of a parent through death or by separation, especially if sudden, may be stressful for a young child. Physical and sexual abuse may also lead to traumatic symptoms in children and adolescents.
Children with PTSD may experience distressful thoughts. Memories of the trauma may occur without warning. Children may also have trouble falling and staying asleep and have nightmares. They may try to avoid people or objects that serve as reminders of the event and they may act more irritable, have angry outbursts or be easily startled. They may exhibit behaviors more typical of younger children, such as bedwetting or baby talk, and they may experience physical symptoms, including headaches and stomachaches. The symptoms can be upsetting and can impact how a child functions in school and relates to family members and peers.
Helping a child with PTSD generally involves assisting the child, parents and caregivers, creating a feeling of safety, helping the child speak about his or her feelings and experiences directly or through art and play, and teaching the child relaxation and coping skills.
For more information on understanding and helping children of all ages heal from traumatic events visit the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Dr. Zlatin Ivanov, MD, is an adult psychiatrist specializing in addiction treatment, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and OCD. He offers exceptional talk therapy and medication management through online video conferencing.
Dr. Ivanov is double board certified in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurology and a member of the American Psychiatric Association. His medical career is colored by many outstanding contributions to medicine, including several publications, research, and scientific presentations. An attending psychiatrist at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, and Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, he takes the time to listen to patients and makes sure they know he is committed to their unique situation.
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