What It’s Like To Have PTSD

What It’s Like To Have PTSD

The Albany Clinic • February 2, 2022

Millions of people have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health illness prompted by a horrifying event — either from undergoing it or watching it. Symptoms can include flashbacks, bad dreams, acute anxiety, or irrepressible thoughts about the incident. However, if you suffer from it, symptoms are manageable.

Are There Related Conditions?

PTSD has many related conditions, some with overlapping symptoms, which can make it difficult to diagnose. These include:

  • Acute stress disorder has similar symptoms, but they normally happen much quicker – often between three days to a month after the trauma. If you have acute stress disorder, you may relive what happened, have flashbacks or bad dreams, and feel detached from yourself.
  • Adjustment disorder also happens in reaction to a traumatic life event. The emotional or behavioral symptoms usually are severe with great intensity.
  • Reactive attachment disorder happens in kids who’ve lived through acute social neglect or poverty during the first years of their lives. It can be triggered when children don’t have the basic emotional necessities for comfort, encouragement, and affection or when frequent changes in caregivers (including frequent disruptions to their foster care arrangements) keep them from developing stable relationships.

What It’s Like To Have Ptsd

PTSD can be a jarring, terrifying experience – in some cases. People relive their trauma to the point where they can’t function. If you have PTSD, you know the feelings can last long after the traumatic incident ended. 

Many U.S. military veterans describe PTSD in stark terms.

U.S. Air Force veteran Stacy L. Pearsall said , “Even just falling asleep was tough. The minute I would start dozing off, I would get a surge of adrenaline or anxiety and wake up. And even when I did fall asleep, I would wake up with night terrors or sweats.”

But you don’t have to be a combat veteran to experience PTSD. Anyone can get it. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that up to six percent of the population has symptoms in any given year.

PTSD is most clearly described in terms of its symptoms. They’re mostly grouped into four kinds: intrusive memories, avoidance , adverse changes in thinking and mood, and fluctuations in emotional and physical reactions. Symptoms can change over time or differ from person to person.

  • You relive the event. Unwelcome memories about what you went through can crop up without warning. They can feel terrifying and real, as if you’re living through the trauma all over again. This is what’s known as a flashback. And you also can experience vivid bad dreams.
  • You avoid something which triggers memories of what happened. This is common for someone with PTSD. You’re out and about and see someone or something that triggers a vivid reminder of what happened, so you naturally try and avoid that person or situation. For example, a late-night mugging outside your favorite eatery could make you avoid that restaurant. If you’re a wartime veteran, you might try to avoid congested places like big-box retailers due to the fear generated when surrounded by large crowds.
  • Negative thoughts and feelings have become commonplace. You might be sad or disoriented — and don’t care about doing things you used to take pleasure in, like quality time with family or friends. Since your trauma, you’ve gradually begun feeling like the world is a dark, dangerous place, and no one’s trustworthy anymore. This can make it tough to feel or convey happiness or other positive feelings.

Besides recognizing the symptoms, the first step in possible recovery often means reaching out to your doctor or family and friends for support.

Diagnosis & Treatment

 

Diagnosis normally requires seeing a doctor or mental health professional with experience identifying and treating PTSD. To be diagnosed, your symptoms must persist longer than a month and trigger significant distress or inhibit how you function daily. Your healthcare provider will do a physical examination and recommend common tests to uncover any medical reason for symptoms. Your doctor or therapist may also use a mental health screener to assess your symptoms and compare them to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria.

 

Treatment may include psychotherapy, self-help, lifestyle changes, antidepressants, or options like ketamine infusion or Stellate Ganglion Block.

Final Thoughts

If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, one of the best things you can do is realize that you’re not alone and that there are many resources to help you manage symptoms and start getting better. You can reach out to your healthcare provider or other organizations for useful treatment information.

The post What It’s Like To Have PTSD appeared first on The Albany Clinic.

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Living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be debilitating. Nightmares, flashbacks, and a constant sense of being “on edge” can interfere with work, relationships, and overall quality of life. If you’ve tried therapy or medications without lasting relief, you’re not alone—and there may be another option. At the Albany Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, we specialize in ketamine therapy as a promising treatment for PTSD. Understanding PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after experiencing or witnessing trauma. While everyone responds to trauma differently, common symptoms include: Intrusive memories or flashbacks Avoidance of reminders of the trauma Emotional numbness or detachment Heightened anxiety , irritability , or trouble sleeping Some people also develop complex PTSD (CPTSD) , which stems from repeated or prolonged trauma. CPTSD often comes with additional challenges, such as difficulty regulating emotions or maintaining healthy relationships. Current Treatments and Their Limitations The most common treatments for PTSD include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) , eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) , and antidepressant medications . For many people, these treatments can be helpful. However, they also come with challenges: Medications may take weeks to work and don’t help everyone. Therapy can take months or years to create lasting change. Therapies can be difficult to engage with, as they involve discussing the trauma, which can be distressing or may cause someone to shut down emotionally. Some individuals continue to experience severe symptoms despite treatment. This is where ketamine therapy offers a new avenue of hope. How Ketamine May Help PTSD Ketamine works differently from traditional antidepressants. Instead of gradually altering brain chemistry, ketamine acts quickly on key brain circuits involved in mood and fear. Rebalancing brain activity : Ketamine boosts activity in the prefrontal cortex , the part of the brain that helps regulate emotions. It also decreases activity in the amygdala , the brain’s fear center, helping reduce anxiety and hypervigilance. Promoting neuroplasticity : Ketamine encourages new connections between brain areas, helping “rewire” pathways associated with PTSD symptoms. Supporting fear extinction : Ketamine supports fear extinction, the process by which the brain ‘unlearns’ fearful responses to things it expects to be threatening. This is especially important in PTSD, where people may react to safe situations or cues as if they were actual threats. Benefits of Ketamine for PTSD Research continues to grow, but studies and clinical experience have shown several promising benefits: Rapid relief : Many patients notice improvements within hours to days, rather than weeks. This can be especially important during a mental health crisis or for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. Effective when other treatments have failed : Ketamine can offer relief even for people who haven’t responded to medications or therapy. Sustained improvement : With a series of treatments, many patients experience lasting relief from PTSD symptoms. Increases the benefits of other therapies : Ketamine may speed up the outcomes of other trauma-based therapies, such as prolonged exposure therapy . In a 2021 study , people with severe PTSD received either ketamine or a comparison drug over two weeks. Those given ketamine showed much faster and greater improvement in PTSD and depression symptoms. About 67% had significantly improved symptoms , with the biggest differences in intrusive memories, avoidance, and negative thoughts and mood. The treatment was also well-tolerated with few adverse effects. Ketamine Treatment for PTSD at the Albany Clinic At the Albany Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, we are dedicated to providing safe, effective ketamine therapy for people with PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. We administer ketamine intravenously to support a rapid reduction in symptoms. Here’s what you can expect: A thorough medical and psychiatric evaluation before treatment begins Comfortable, private treatment rooms Careful monitoring by experienced medical professionals throughout each session A personalized treatment plan designed around your needs During your treatment, you’ll have a small plastic catheter inserted into a vein in your arm, which will deliver ketamine straight into your bloodstream. You may experience mild side effects, such as dizziness and dissociation , which can make you feel disconnected from your body and the world around you. These typically wear off after the session is finished. The infusion takes 45 minutes to one hour , and you’ll be closely monitored by staff during the infusion and afterwards to ensure your safety. We’ll provide you with guidance on aftercare once you’re done and how to make the most of your new headspace. Most people with PTSD require multiple infusions to experience sustained, meaningful changes. However, the treatment plan will be tailored according to your unique needs. Get in Touch Today If you or a loved one is struggling with PTSD and current treatments haven’t provided the relief you need, ketamine therapy may be an option worth exploring. At the Albany Clinic, we are here to answer your questions and guide you through every step of the process. Get in touch to find out more.