Are you supporting a family member or friend with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
This experience can be stressful, overwhelming and isolating but you do not have to go through it alone.
HelpingMinds provides the following information to help you understand what your loved one is going through and how you can look after yourself as you care for someone experiencing mental health challenges such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
What is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that affects the mental state and the behaviour of a person when triggered by a traumatic experience. This mental health challenge is caused by experiencing or witnessing something traumatic such as death, accident or serious sexual assault. PTSD is the response or reaction of the brain after experiencing fear and danger caused by these horrible situations. This reaction which manifests from as early as 3 months after the experience, to years or decades after the event, is also the brain’s way of protecting the individual from recalling the terrifying experience that it had witnessed.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is also associated with other mental health conditions such as Anxiety, Depression and Psychosis because an individual experiencing severe and chronic PTSD may exhibit symptoms of these mental health conditions, especially after recalling a traumatic episode. Symptoms of PTSD can be temporary and can be treated effectively with medications and therapy. Some conditions can be long-term but are manageable with proper treatment.
Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD usually occurs within 3 months of experiencing or witnessing the traumatic event. Sometimes, the symptoms can start several years after – when you are faced with something that you associate with the traumatic experience. The symptoms range from moderate to serious conditions that can affect people of all ages in different ways. These can be classified into Re-experiencing Symptoms, Avoidance Symptoms, Arousal & Reactivity Symptoms and Cognition & Mood Symptoms.
- Re-experiencing – Usually triggered by your thoughts and emotions, flashbacks, bad dreams and frightening thoughts let you relive the traumatic experience. During these periods, you’ll also experience sweating, heart racing, palpitations and more.
- Avoidance – Individuals with symptoms of PTSD would always try to avoid going back to the place where the traumatic experience happened. This also includes staying away from anything that may associate your thoughts and feelings with that event.
- Arousal and Reactivity – Always feeling on the edge such as easily getting startled, shocked or scared, finding it hard to sleep and experiencing sudden outbursts are signs of PTSD that prevent the individual from feeling calm and focused as they live their daily lives.
- Cognition and Mood – Feeling depressed and unmotivated along with blaming yourself and hating the world are some signs of PTSD. This also includes a loss of interest in things and thoughts that you once found enjoyable or pleasurable.
What causes Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
Experiencing or witnessing a range and degree of traumatic events trigger PTSD in all ages. Traumatic events can be caused by the following:
- Death – sudden loss of a loved one or personally experiencing death (person dying in front of you due to natural causes or accidents).
- Stressful Event – being put under lots of stress that affects not only your mental state but your physical wellbeing as well, such as being in the centre of a war zone or personally being involved or dragged in a fight between your loved ones.
- Assault – experiencing verbal, sexual, physical and other assaults can make a deep impression that can affect a person for a long time.
- Accidents – serious accidents that create physical scars (such as loss of a limb or of a motor function) can also leave mental, emotional and psychological scars that can lead to PTSD.
- Lifestyle – being in an abusive relationship for a long time and other stressful events can also cause PTSD.
Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
For a patient to be diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, they should experience a number of symptoms including re-experiencing, avoidance, arousal & reactivity and cognition & mood symptoms. A holistic treatment that involves Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with social and emotional therapy along with proper medication is the best way to manage and treat PTSD. Other forms of therapy such as counselling and support groups can also contribute to the successful treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
Some patients may recover quickly such as within a year, while others may develop chronic PTSD that would require constant and vigilant management and a good treatment plan to help the patient have a normal life while living with this mental health condition. The first step is to get a proper diagnosis from a GP or Psychiatrist so that they can appropriate a treatment plan that should be discussed with the treating clinician.
Please note that HelpingMinds® does not offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. If you have PTSD and require CBT, you will require a referral from your GP. If you have someone close to you who is living with PTSD, we can offer you support and other services.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is life-long.
Not true.
A person experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can be treated as quickly as 1 year while others can last for a long time but still manage to live a good life.
Only soldiers experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
No, not necessarily.
Regardless of age, gender or profession, anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event in their life can develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Soldiers are just most commonly known to experience PTSD because they are more exposed to these kinds of events.
How to help your loved one
Often, we have a strong desire to ‘fix’ or ‘solve’ someone else’s problem, however, this is not your role and should be left to a professional. The best thing you can do for someone experiencing mental health challenges, such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is to help them find an appropriate service through a GP or a mental health phone line as well as by searching online for mental health services.
Aside from professional medical help, you can also connect them to several support services and support groups for PTSD patients. If you also want to know what support services are available for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder patients in Australia, specifically in Western Australia, so that you may connect your family or friend to the help that they need, you may connect with HelpingMinds for more information.
How to help yourself
Having someone close to you who lives with mental health challenges such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can be exhausting, frustrating, confusing and isolating, especially if you don’t know how to care for them. But you don’t have to go through it alone. HelpingMinds® offers free and confidential support to people who are caring for someone living with mental health challenges. We offer free counselling, support groups, rest and revive activities, school holiday programs, family programs, youth programs and advocacy to people living in WA. Browse our website for our range of programs and activities or get in touch with us for more information on how we can help you.
Get Support from HelpingMinds®
Would you like to know more about free and confidential mental health carer services and how we can support you? Please feel free to contact HelpingMinds® via the form below or on (08) 9427 7100. For one of our team to get back to you, we will require your email address and/or phone number. Please know all information provided will be treated completely confidential and in line with our privacy policy.
