Contents
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. 3
Antidepressants Medications. 4
Introduction
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a state of mental illness, confusion, or distress that is caused by dangerous, stressful, scary, or traumatic experiences. Most of the post-traumatic stress disorders are caused by adverse effects or actions such as accidents, domestic or child abuse, sexual abuse or assault, natural disasters, and exposure to traumatic incidents such as war or abuse (Bisson & Andrew, 2007). People with PTSD react differently to different traumatic events due to abnormal or high levels of stress hormones. People with PTSD have disturbing feelings and thoughts that can be triggered by memories, flashbacks, or actions that relate to their traumatic experience. PTSD patients may have uncontrolled emotions, avoid people who remind them of the stressful story, adverse reactions to things such as sound and blood.
Treatment for PTSD helps patients’ to regain a sense of control of behaviors and reactions towards ordinary incidents. The disorder can be treated using various methods such as the use of medications and Psychotherapy. However, Psychotherapy is the primary method that can be used to treat people with PTSD.
Psychotherapy Treatment
This form of PTSD treatment involves the use of developed stress management skills which helps patients deal or cope with traumatic situations in their lives (Jones et al., 2001)?The three forms of therapy that are used based on a person’s condition include;
Cognitive Therapy
This is a talking type of therapy which helps a patient to regain their sense of thinking and help them release the thought of another traumatic action happening again in life.
Exposure Therapy
This type of therapy involves the use of behaviorsthat help patients to overcome memories and flashbacks of stressful situations that they find frightening and help them learn how to live with them without fear.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
This type of therapy help patients to change how they react to traumatic memories, which involves guided eye movements.
Medications Treatment
This type of treatment uses drugs that are administered by the doctor, depending on the patients’ stressful situation and symptoms (Jones et al., 2001). However, this type of treatment can be used together with Psychotherapy to help improve a patients’ recovery process. The several medicines that can be used to treat or control PTSD include;
Antidepressants Medications
These types of medicines are administered by the physicians to patients with PTSD to help improve their sleeping and concentration problems. The drugs are administered to patients with anxiety and depression symptoms.
Anti-anxiety Medicines
These medicines are used by the doctor to patients with PTSD to reduce severe anxiety and other related PTSD symptoms.
Prazosin Drugs
These medications are used to reduce nightmares in people with PTSD.
References
Bisson, J., & Andrew, M. (2007). Psychological Treatment of Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (3). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub3
Jones, L., Hughes, M., & Unterstaller, U. (2001). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Victims of Domestic Violence: A review of the research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2(2), 99-119. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1524838001002002001