Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a psychological injury that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, sexual assault, etc. PTSD can happen to anyone, at any age. 

It is important to remember that not everyone who lives through a dangerous event develops PTSD. Many factors play a part in whether a person will develop PTSD. Some examples are listed below. Risk factors make a person more likely to develop PTSD. Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder.

Some factors that increase risk for PTSD include:

·  Living through dangerous events and traumas

·  Getting hurt

·  Seeing another person hurt, or seeing a dead body

·  Childhood trauma

·  Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear

·  Having little or no social support after the event

·  Dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and    

   injury, or loss of a job or home

·  Having a history of mental illness or substance abuse

Some factors that may promote recovery after trauma include:

·  Seeking out support from other people, such as friends and family

·  Finding a support group after a traumatic event

·  Learning to feel good about one’s own actions in the face of danger

·  Having a positive coping strategy, or a way of getting through the bad event and   

   learning from it

·  Being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear

PTSD affects an estimated 3.6 percent of American adults over the age of 18. The symptoms of PTSD in adults are grouped by impairment level as serious, moderate or mild. It is estimated that 36.6 percent of adults experience serious impairment, 33.1 percent have a moderate impairment and 30.2 percent have mild impairment. While most statistics focus on PTSD in adults, all age groups can be affected. PTSD in youth does occur, though sometimes trauma experienced in childhood does not result in PTSD until after the brain has further developed in early adulthood.

There are four types of PTSD symptoms: reliving the event (nightmares, flashbacks, or triggers), avoiding situations that remind you of the event, negative changes in beliefs and feelings, and feeling keyed up (hyperarousal). PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later.

 We offer evidenced based therapy for PTSD.  If you or someone you know are suffering from PTSD, call us today and start your healing journey. Harmonia Wellness is proud to be one of Sarasota's experts in therapy for sexual violence survivors, and combat survivors.