Mental HealthPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening or traumatic event. The stress caused by witnessing or experiencing the trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including their mental, emotional and physical well-being. It's normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge, or have trouble sleeping after a traumatic event. At first, it may be hard to do normal daily activities, like go to work, go to school, or spend time with people you care about. But most people start to feel better after a few weeks or months.
What causes PTSD?
People do not have the same reactions to traumatic events, and often what causes one person to experience PTSD may not cause the same reaction in another person. Witnessing or experiencing some of the following may cause some individuals to develop PTSD:
• experiencing violence, military combat or a terrorist attack
• surviving a natural disaster, such as flooding, an earthquake or a pandemic physical or sexual assault, bullying or harassment
• an automobile accident
• being kidnapped or held hostage
• seeing other people hurt or killed
• losing someone close to you in upsetting circumstances, such as suicide
• being diagnosed with a life-threatening condition
Common symptoms of PTSD
Each person's experience of PTSD is unique. But these are some common symptoms that you might have.
Reliving what happened to you
This can include:
• Flashbacks
• Nightmares
• Intrusive thoughts. These are difficult or unwelcome thoughts that come into your mind that you can't control. When these things happen, your emotions might be intense. You might feel afraid or upset. They might be the same emotions you felt during the trauma. Your body might also react to these things. You might feel pain or nausea. You might sweat or tremble. This is sometimes called 're-experiencing'.
Alertness or feeling on edge
This can include:
• Being jumpy or easily startled
• Feeling like something bad is going to happen
• Feeling you need to constantly check things are safe. Or feeling you need to change the way you do things to keep safe
• Being overprotective of people close to you
• Feeling emotional more easily. You might feel angry, upset or aggressive over things other people think aren't a big deal
• Problems getting to sleep or staying asleep
• Finding it hard to concentrate, even on simple or everyday tasks
• Other symptoms of anxiety
This feeling of being extra alert is called 'hyper vigilance'. Being hyper vigilant means your body and mind are always looking out for danger. The lack of sleep and the sense of never being at peace are exhausting.
Avoiding feelings or memories
This can include:
• Feeling like you have to keep busy
• Avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma
• Being unable to remember details of what happened
• Feeling emotionally numb or cut off from your feelings
• Feeling numb or detached from your body
• Doing things to hurt yourself or that put you in danger
You might use recreational drugs or alcohol to avoid memories. Or you might feel you need to move away or change your job. You might dissociate to avoid feelings and memories. This is when you disconnect from yourself or the world around you
Difficult beliefs or feelings
This can include feeling:
• You can't trust anyone
• Nowhere is safe
• No one understands
• What happened was your fault
• Guilty, sad, angry or ashamed
Physical symptoms
These include
• Headaches
• Pain, including chronic pain conditions
• Feeling dizzy
• Stomach aches and problems with your bowels
• Shaking and trembling
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Feeling tired or exhausted
What can trigger symptoms of PTSD?
A trigger is something that reminds you of the trauma and makes symptoms feel more intense.
Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, places or situations. For example, a loud noise or fireworks may bring back memories from a war zone, or a song may remind you of someone who hurt you. Even certain dates or times of year can cause symptoms to flare. When a trigger happens, symptoms like anxiety, flashbacks or strong emotions may return, even if you were feeling better before. Triggers are a normal part of this condition. A healthcare provider can help you identify them and manage your reaction.
When to seek help for PTSD?
If you’ve been through a traumatic event or are the victim of trauma and you feel that you are experiencing PTSD, or if you have a friend or family member who is exhibiting symptoms of PTSD, it is important to seek help sooner rather than later. Contacting your physician or a mental health care professional is an important first step. Educating yourself through the resources below can also help you gain insight into PTSD
It is often hard for individuals to know when to seek help if they are experiencing PTSD after a traumatic event. Some guidelines for when to consider seeking professional help or treatment include:
• having reactions to the traumatic event that is interfering with home life, work and/or relationships
• thinking of harming oneself or someone else
• being constantly on edge, irritable, highly anxious or distressed
• being unable to respond emotionally to others
• taking risks or not caring what happens to oneself
• using alcohol, drugs or gambling to cope
• having severe sleeping difficulties.
Individuals at high risk of developing PTSD include: • combat veterans or civilian victims of war
• rape or sexual assault survivors
• children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused, or adults who were abused as children
• Survivors of natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes
Treating PTSD
A proper diagnosis of PTSD should be made by a mental health care professional who has experience of treating patients with PTSD. Many types of therapy are used to treat PTSD; however, trauma-focused psychotherapies provided by a mental healthcare professional are the most recommended. This enables patients to process their experiences of the traumatic event.
Treatments include the following:
Psychotherapy (talking therapy) - Trauma-focused psychotherapy involves working with a therapist to focus on the individual’s memory of the traumatic event and what it means to them. Such therapies come in different forms, including:
• trauma-focused cognitive processing therapy, which teaches the person how to change upsetting thoughts and feelings they have had since the trauma;
• prolonged exposure, which helps the individual to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings and situations that they have been avoiding and replacing distorted and irrational thoughts about the experience with a more balanced picture; and
• stress inoculation training, which teaches coping skills to find new ways to manage PTSD symptoms.
How can Belief Shaping Therapies help people with PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment can help you regain a sense of control over your life. The main treatment is talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy.
Combining these treatments can make your symptoms better by: • Teaching you skills to manage your symptoms.
• Helping you think better about yourself, others and the world.
• Learning ways to cope if any symptoms arise again.
• Treating other problems often related to traumatic experiences, such as depression, anxiety, or misuse of alcohol or drugs.
At Belief Shaping Therapies, Dubai, DHA licensed therapist can help you build stress management skills to help you better handle stressful situations and cope with stress in your life. Skills such as relaxation, sleep and exercise can be helpful. All these approaches can help you gain control of lasting fear after a traumatic event. You may try individual therapy, group therapy or both. Group therapy can offer a way to connect with others going through similar experiences.
Conclusion
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may change the way you feel and think — often in ways that are hard to explain to others. Whether your symptoms began recently or have been building over time, it’s OK to acknowledge that things feel different. Healing doesn’t mean forgetting what happened. It means finding ways to carry your experiences with less weight and more support, often through evidence-based treatments and supportive relationships. That might look like therapy, medications, connecting with others or simply learning new ways to cope when triggers show up. Progress can take time. That’s not a sign of failure. It’s part of how healing works.