Promoting PTSD Awareness at Marion VA Health Care System

What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?

PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years. If the symptoms last longer than 4 weeks, cause you great distress, or interfere with your work or home life, you might have PTSD.

There are 4 types of PTSD symptoms. To be diagnosed with PTSD, you need to have each type. That said, everyone experiences symptoms in their own way.

1. Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms). Memories of the traumatic event can come back at any time. They can feel very real and scary. For example:
   • You may have nightmares.
   • You may feel like you are going through the event again. This is called a flashback.
   • You may see, hear or smell something that causes you to relive the event. This is called a trauma reminder, cue or trigger. News reports, seeing an accident, or hearing fireworks are examples of trauma reminders.
2. Avoiding things that remind you of the event. You may try to avoid situations or people remind you of the trauma event. You may even avoid talking or thinking about the event. For example:
   • You may avoid crowds because they feel dangerous.
   • You may avoid driving if you were in a car accident or if your military convoy was bombed.
   • If you were in an earthquake, you may avoid watching movies about earthquakes.
   • You may keep very busy or avoid getting help so you don't have to think or talk about the event.
3. Having more negative thoughts and feelings than before the event. The way you think about yourself and others may become more negative because of the trauma. For example:
   • You may feel numb—unable to have positive or loving feelings toward other people—and lose interest in things you used to enjoy.
   • You may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them.
   • You may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.
   • You may feel guilt or shame about the event, wishing you had done more to keep it from happening.
4. Feeling on edge or keyed up (also called hyperarousal). You may be jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. You might suddenly become angry or irritable. For example:
   • You may have a hard time sleeping.
   • You may find it hard to concentrate.
   • You may be startled by a loud noise or surprise.
   • You might act in unhealthy ways, like smoking, abusing drugs or alcohol, or driving aggressively.

What Treatments Are Available?

Trauma-focused psychotherapy

Trauma-focused psychotherapies are the most highly recommended treatments for PTSD. "Trauma-focused" means that the therapy focuses on the memory of the traumatic event or its meaning. The 3 trauma-focused psychotherapies offered by the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team are:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) where you learn skills to understand how trauma changed your thoughts and feelings. Changing how you think about the trauma can change how you feel.
• Prolonged Exposure (PE) where you talk about your trauma repeatedly until memories are no longer upsetting. This will help you get more control over your thoughts and feelings about the trauma. You also go to places or do things that are safe, but that you have been staying away from because they remind you of the trauma.
• Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT-P) is an evidence-based therapy designed to reduce individual PTSD symptoms and improve relationship satisfaction. This therapy helps you and your partner identify the thoughts and behaviors that affect the symptoms of PTSD, other areas of your life and your relationship. 

For more information about the PCT program, you may contact Colette Smith, LCSW, CADC at ext: 159430.