Between 57 and 75% of Australians will encounter a potentially traumatic event at some point in their lives, whilst 12% of them will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, according to the Australian Government-run website Health Direct, PTSD affects around 3 million Australians during their lifetime.
What is PTSD?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a recognised psychological condition that occurs after somebody experiences a traumatic event. This can involve exposure to natural disasters, sexual abuse, death or injury.
PTSD is when feelings such as anxiety and fear, as well as traumatic memories, last for a long time and sometimes never go away at all. It isn’t characterised by violence or any type of psychosis. Someone who experiences PTSD isn’t ‘out-of-control’ in any sense of the word.
PTSD is not necessarily always caused by experiencing an injury or a death. It can also affect everybody who experiences a traumatic event, not just members of the armed forces.
What are the PTSD symptoms?
The symptoms of PTSD differ from person to person and can range in intensity. Symptoms can be mild to severely distressing, involving changes in daily life, numbness, withdrawals, anxiety and flashbacks of traumatic memories.
They may appear shortly after the traumatic event that triggered the PTSD, although sometimes the symptoms can lie underneath the surface for years.
PTSD symptoms can include:
- Nightmares
- Distress
- Anger
- Physical anxiety
- Flashbacks over the course of daily life
- Re-experiencing trauma
- Frightening and intrusive thoughts
- Insomnia or sleep problems
- Changes in mood
There is also a condition known as complex PTSD (or CPTSD), where a patient may experience the typical PTSD symptoms but others as well, such as difficulty controlling emotions or feeling constantly worthless. Patients may also self-isolate as they feel shame about themselves.
Does PTSD ever go away?
No. Symptoms very rarely disappear completely. The traumatic event that forms the basis of PSTD symptoms will unfortunately never go away and this means symptoms can be ‘triggered’ at any stage of one’s life. This is because you cannot really “undo” an event in your memory.
However, patients can manage their symptoms with the right treatment. PTSD is therefore not something to suffer from for the rest of one’s life. When treated effectively, PTSD symptoms can lay dormant for a long period of time. This can be for months, years and sometimes even decades.
Treatment for PTSD
There are a range of different treatments for PTSD. This can include therapy as well as medication. We’ll outline some of the treatments in detail below.
Cognitive processing therapy
CPT is a long-term, 12-week treatment where patients attend weekly sessions lasting between one hour to 90 minutes. The treatment begins by discussing the traumatic event and writing about it in detail. This allows patients to examine how they themselves perceive and think about their trauma and discover new ways to adjust.
Prolonged exposure therapy
PET typically involves up to 15 sessions that last one and a half hours each. A therapist will teach their patient different forms of breathing to address the symptoms of anxiety. They also make a list of things they may avoid so they can tackle them head-on. It also involves recounting the experience and listening to a recording of themselves speaking.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
This 3-month treatment doesn’t necessarily involve discussing your experience. It involves focusing on your therapist who is doing something, whether that be making a noise or moving their hand. The idea is that the patient must think about something positive while at the same time exploring their traumatic event. Find out more about this effective treatment for PTSD here.
PTSD may not go away, but our counsellors can help
Locating the right counsellors for PTSD can be difficult, but our mental health professionals at Safe Place Therapy can help. While the symptoms of PTSD may never disappear entirely, our trauma counsellors can assist with adopting the proper coping skills to help patients get through it.
One of our counsellors in Melbourne can assist victims impacted by trauma. They have years of experience assisting a broad range of people facing mental health challenges. And they are committed to providing evidence-based treatment with a calm and non-judgmental approach to help patients make their recovery.
You can book a session with a trauma counsellor today.
