What Can I Do if I Think I Have PTSD?
If you think you have PTSD, it's important to get treatment.
Treatment can work, and early treatment may help reduce long-term
symptoms.
If you think you have PTSD:
Talk to
your family doctor.
Talk to a mental health professional, such as a therapist.
If you're a veteran, contact your local VA hospital or Vet
Center.
Talk to a close friend or family member. He or she may be
able to support you and find you help.
Talk to a religious leader.
Fill out a PTSD screen and take it with you to the doctor.
While this online PTSD screen asks about stressful military
experiences, you can also answer the questions as they would
apply to any other kind of trauma.
Learn more about talking to your doctor about trauma.
Many people
who might need assistance with something like the symptoms
of PTSD are afraid to go for help.
1 out
of 5 people say they might not get help because of what other
people might think.
1 out of 3 people say they would not want anyone else to know
they were in therapy.
A study
that's been done of soldiers coming home from Iraq found that
only 4 in 10 service members with mental health problems said
they would get help.
Some of the most common reasons they gave were:
Worried
about what others would think
Thought it might hurt their military career
Might be seen as weak
Why
seek help?
Here are some of the reasons why you should seek help:
Early
treatment is better
Symptoms
of PTSD may get worse. Dealing with them now might help stop
them from getting worse in the future. Finding out more about
what treatments work, where to look for help, and what kind
of questions to ask can make it easier to get help and lead
to better outcomes.
PTSD symptoms can change family life
PTSD symptoms
can get in the way of your family life. You may find that
you pull away from loved ones, are not able to get along with
people, or that you are angry or even violent. Getting help
for your PTSD can help improve your family life.
PTSD can be related to other health problems
PTSD symptoms
can worsen physical health problems. For example, a few studies
have shown a relationship between PTSD and heart trouble.
By getting help for your PTSD, you could also improve your
physical health.
It may not be PTSD
Having
symptoms of PTSD does not always mean you have PTSD. Some
of the symptoms of PTSD are also symptoms for other mental
health problems. For example, trouble concentrating or feeling
less interested in things you used to enjoy can be symptoms
of both depression and PTSD. Since different problems have
different treatments, it's important to have your symptoms
assessed.
While
it may be tempting to identify PTSD in yourself or someone
you know, the diagnosis generally is made by a mental health
professional. This will usually involve an evaluation by a
psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker specifically
trained to assess psychological problems.
What
you can do?
If
you have PTSD or PTSD symptoms, you may feel helpless.
Here
are ways, though, that you can help yourself:
Learn more
about PTSD from this website or from other places.
Talk to your doctor or a chaplain or other religious leader.
Go for a PTSD evaluation by a mental health professional specifically
trained to assess psychological problems.
If you
do not want to be evaluated, but feel you have symptoms of
PTSD, you may choose "watchful waiting." Watchful
waiting means taking a wait-and-see approach.
If you
get better on your own, you won't need treatment.
If your symptoms do not get better after 3 months, and they
are either causing you distress or are getting in the way
of your work or home life, talk with a health professional.
In a few
cases, your symptoms may be so severe that you need immediate
help. Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if
you think that you cannot keep from hurting yourself or someone
else.
What treatments are available?
Today,
there are good treatments available for PTSD. When you have
PTSD dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling
others how you feel, you may keep your feelings bottled up.
But talking with a therapist can help you get better.
Cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT) appears to be the most effective
type of counseling for PTSD. There are different types of
cognitive behavioral therapies such as cognitive therapy and
exposure therapy. There is also a similar kind of therapy
called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
that is used for PTSD. Medications have also been shown to
be effective. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression,
is effective for PTSD.
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