Post-traumatic stress can develop after a person has been directly exposed to, witnessed or heard about a traumatic event, involving a threat of severe bodily harm or loss of life to themselves or others.
Acute stress is the body’s normal reaction to extremely abnormal events, but for some these symptoms do not remit. When symptoms of acute stress become prolonged, even after the threat is gone, this can result in PTSD.
Military personnel may be more at risk of exposure to traumatic events than the average civilian population due to their frequent deployments to combat zones. In fact, research shows that the repeated deployments of the past ten years have made all Military Service Members, Veterans and Families more vulnerable to stress conditions, including PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD can occur anytime after returning home, and if the symptoms don’t go away, it’s important to seek help before they get worse.
Signs and Symptoms of PTSD:
- Nightmares, intrusive memories or flashbacks to the trauma
- Feeling anxious or unsafe, especially when reminded of the trauma
- Difficulty concentrating
- Trouble sleeping
- Constantly feeling on alert and/or easily startled
- Feeling numb
- Feeling irritable or having anger outbursts
- Avoiding people and places
- Overwhelming thoughts and feelings, including guilt, shame, and depression
In order to receive a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, symptoms must persist for at least one month and cause significant distress, interference, or impairment in work, school, or social functioning. Symptoms may last for several months, or become even more chronic. For some, PTSD symptoms emerge six months or more after the traumatic event.
Treatment Approach at Home Base
Home Base offers assessment, diagnosis and treatment for Service Members, Veterans and Families experiencing the symptoms of PTSD. The organization’s seasoned team of clinicians and social workers collaborate with the individual(s) to develop a highly tailored treatment plan, with the goal of helping them ease or overcome the symptoms and enjoy a better quality of life.
There are well-established, effective treatments for PTSD and research shows they have good outcomes in Veterans and Service Members with combat trauma.. At Home Base, treatments include Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT) like Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). For some, Pharmacotherapy (medication) options are also effective.
Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE) therapy can be used as a treatment tool for Veterans with PTSD. Home Base is at the cutting edge of integrating VRE therapy directly into clinical care options for veterans diagnosed with PTSD
For more information about PTSD, visit:
http://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/services/anxiety_ptsd.aspx
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/index.asp