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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can manifest itself in a variety of unpredictable ways. Some treatment works better for some than for others. So, what is the best way to know which works for you?
The first step to recovery is knowing what’s out there:
Talk & Group Therapy
Many sufferers of PTSD have found that sharing their experiences with others who have had similar experiences has helped them cope with their symptoms. Talk Therapy involves privately talking with a therapist about your memories and obstacles. Group Therapy, on the other hand, builds relationships with others who understand what you are going through. Learning how to communicate what is triggering your symptoms is a crucial step towards recovery.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
PE Therapy has been shown to be one of the most effective means of treatment for PTSD. Through therapy, an individual learns how to deal with stressful memories and situations by developing the skills necessary to combat them. Veterans Affairs has rolled out a national PE program due to its success.
Exposure Therapy
For many of those diagnosed with PTSD there are symptoms of persistent avoidance of their own trauma-associations and emotional numbing. By avoiding these stimuli so as not to trigger distressing memories or feelings we actually prolong our suffering. Exposure therapy asks us to, in a safe environment, confront our traumatic experiences and address them directly.
Hypnotherapy
Through hypnosis, a therapist can target the subconcious and “retrain the brain.” This method has proved to be quite effective. A relaxed person’s mind will lower its defenses and be more open to trans-formative suggestion.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
A combination of Cognitive and Behavorial therapy, CBT focuses on the present: How we feel about the trauma now. The process replaces negative feelings and memories with more positive associations and helps subjects understand that the event they lived through was not their fault.
Self-Therapy
All the therapy techniques listed above focus on empowering those seeking help so they can get back to living their lives. However, a person can help themselves by being proactive, taking responsibility, and deciding how to be their best self. It is still important to consult with experts, but there is much a person can do for themselves that therapy cannot. Learn to live up to your potential through self-development.
If you’ve explored these options and are still not getting the relief you need, there are still many more options. Information Processing Therapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming have also been shown to help in some cases and there are new experimental forms of treatment being developed as we learn more about PTSD and the brain.
Know your options. Talk to your doctor. Get the help you need!
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What I find is that these games bring me back to when I was deployed. There is tons of action, explosions, small arms fire, bombers, mortars, air defense, compatriots, and stress. This stress is short lived and not constant but it is there. The sounds are there, the graphics are extremely life like. It brings me back to a place where I felt that what I was doing was important on a global level. It has instant highs and lows: one round you may do excellent and 5 minutes later at the end of the next round you are completely disappointed with your performance. It’s a way to get some of the good and bad feelings back from my deployment and without the bad you don’t realize how great the good ones are. I am sure this sounds odd to those who haven’t experienced a deployment. It is definitely a unique way to feel when you return home and since for me it has been almost exactly 5 years since my return it obviously has had a long lasting effect on my life.
