What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that develops after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic or life-threatening event. It’s not uncommon to feel on edge and anxious after any type of trauma. However, with time and good self-care, your feelings should subside.
With PTSD, the anxiety, fear, and nervousness worsen over time instead of improving. You may begin to experience additional symptoms that make it harder for you to go about your daily routine.
You can develop PTSD at any age. The experienced psychiatrists at Orlando Psychiatric Associates provide care for patients of all ages who have PTSD, including military personnel.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
PTSD symptoms can vary in type and severity. However, the symptoms for PTSD fall into four specific categories, including:
Re-experiencing symptoms
Your re-experiencing symptoms may include frightening thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks.
Avoidance symptoms
With avoidance symptoms, you may alter your routine in order to avoid people or places that remind you of the traumatic event.
Arousal and reactivity symptoms
Your PTSD may cause you to feel on edge or have angry outbursts, which are referred to as arousal and reactivity symptoms.
Cognition and mood symptoms
Your traumatic experience may cause you to feel shame or guilt, which may lead to depression and anxiety.
PTSD symptoms typically develop within three months of the traumatic or life-threatening event. However, it’s not unusual for some people with PTSD to develop symptoms several years after the trauma.
How is PTSD diagnosed?
The team at Orlando Psychiatric Associates conducts comprehensive evaluations to diagnose PTSD. During your exam, your provider asks detailed questions about your symptoms, family history, and mental and medical history. For a PTSD diagnosis, you must be experiencing at least one symptom from each symptom category.
How is PTSD treated?
The psychiatrists at Orlando Psychiatric Associates develop personalized treatment plans for PTSD to best address your mental wellness needs. Your treatment plan may include therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Orlando Psychiatric Associates also offers eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for PTSD. EMDR is a type of therapy that combines exposure therapy with various eye movements to help you process your trauma and improve how you react to it.
In the state of Florida, PTSD is a qualifying diagnosis for the medical marijuana registry. The providers at Orlando Psychiatric Associates are qualified physicians for the medical marijuana program and can talk to you about using the alternative treatment for management of your PTSD.
For comprehensive PTSD care from a compassionate, patient-centered team, call Orlando Psychiatric Associates or book online today.
