Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Your community resource for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Surviving traumas, such as serious accidents, sexual assault, violence, and natural disasters, can leave lasting mental and emotional scars. People who go through these experiences can be left with anxiety and depression. They might experience symptoms ranging from nightmares and flashbacks to headaches and physical pain, all of which are signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD can cause long-term struggles with daily life, interfering with relationships, work, and school. It can affect people of all ages, sexes, races, and ethnic backgrounds, including many people right here in East Central Indiana and West Central Ohio.

If you or a family member are experiencing the symptoms of PTSD following some type of trauma, you can find the advanced care you need at Reid Health.

PTSD care at Reid Health

Our team of behavioral health providers has specialized knowledge and advanced training in diagnosing, treating, and managing PTSD. We offer a full spectrum of treatment options to help alleviate symptoms and offer tools to help you cope.

You can access this care without ever needing to travel outside our communities, getting the services you need from providers you can trust. We’re here to help you overcome trauma and the post-traumatic stress disorder it sometimes leaves behind. 

What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that develops after someone experiences or lives through a traumatic event. It occurs when the body stays in “fight-or-flight” mode long after a trauma.  

The fight-or-flight response is an automatic bodily reaction to real or perceived threats. When you feel stress or witness a trauma, your body jumps into action, prompting you to fight the stressor or flee it. That reaction causes many mental and physical symptoms, including increased alertness, higher pulse and blood pressure, and even shortness of breath.

This reaction protects you from harm when threats are real, but with PTSD, your body remains in that reactive mode even after the trauma abates.  

Many people think PTSD is something military veterans experience after combat, and veterans are certainly at risk. But PTSD is common after many other forms of trauma, including:

• Accidents, such as car crashes  
• Acts of violence, such as robbery, torture, or kidnapping  
• Childhood abuse
• Domestic violence
• Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes
• Physical or sexual assault
• Police actions
• Serious medical diagnoses
• Terrorist attacks 

PTSD risk factors

PTSD can affect anyone who experiences a trauma, witnesses one, or has a family member who has had a traumatic experience. It’s more common among women than men and usually develops within a few months of a traumatic event.

Researchers continue to study why some people develop PTSD after traumatic events and others don’t, but certain risk factors might play a role, such as:

• Being exposed to previous traumas, especially in childhood
• Dealing with additional stressors after a trauma, such as the loss of a loved one or a home
• Feeling helplessness or extreme fear
• Having a personal or family history of substance use or mental illness
• Having little or no social support during and after a trauma 

Can you prevent PTSD?

Just as there are factors that increase a person’s risk of developing PTSD, there are also factors that help prevent PTSD. These “resilience” factors include:

• Accepting your own feelings and actions following a trauma
• Developing coping tools to get through a traumatic event
• Having a support system of family members, friends, and peers 

Symptoms of PTSD

PTSD can cause a variety of symptoms, and every person experiences the condition in a unique way.  

The condition’s symptoms are grouped into four categories: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, arousal and reactivity symptoms, and cognition and mood symptoms.

Re-experiencing symptoms include:

• Having nightmares related to the trauma
• Having unwanted, intrusive memories of the trauma

Avoidance symptoms include:

• Avoiding people, places, and activities that remind you of the trauma
• Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the trauma

Arousal and reactivity symptoms include:

• Being easily startled or feeling on edge
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Difficulty sleeping
• Experiencing changes in behavior, including reckless or self-destructive actions

Cognition and mood symptoms include:

• Difficulty remembering parts of the trauma
• Having negative thoughts and feelings about yourself or the world around you
• Feeling guilty, ashamed, or numb

In addition to causing these symptoms, which largely affect mental health, PTSD can also lead to substance use as a way to cope with trauma and long-term physical health problems, including headaches and other pain caused by stress. 

Diagnosing PTSD

If you’re experiencing symptoms that might be related to PTSD, talk with your primary care provider or a behavioral health specialist. Your provider can perform a physical exam and discuss your symptoms to see if you meet the criteria for PTSD diagnosis.  

To be diagnosed with PTSD, symptoms need to:

• Be unrelated to another medical condition, medication, or substance use
• Disrupt your daily life, relationships, or work
• Last for one month or longer

In addition, you need to have symptoms within each of the four categories. This includes at least:  

• One avoidance symptom (such as avoiding the place where the trauma occurred)
• One re-experiencing symptom (such as flashbacks)
• Two arousal and reactivity symptoms (such as being easily startled)
• Two cognition and mood symptoms (such as self-blame) 

PTSD treatments

There is hope for people with PTSD. Medications and other therapies, used alone or in combination, can help you manage your symptoms and learn how to process your traumatic experience.  

We offer comprehensive treatment for PTSD, including:

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: This specialized therapy uses bilateral stimulation to accelerate the brain’s ability to process and heal memories of a trauma.

Medication management: Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications can help you manage symptoms.

Psychotherapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one type of psychotherapy in which you work with a trained mental health professional. It helps you process trauma, develop ways to cope with your memories, and improve your overall well-being.

Support groups: Support groups offer opportunities to meet others experiencing PTSD. Our support groups give you a safe space to connect with others who can relate to how you feel.  

It’s common to experience PTSD along with other mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Some people are also dealing with ongoing trauma, such as an abusive relationship. Our caring providers will create a personalized treatment plan to meet your needs for treatment and support. They can also connect you with community resources, such as safe houses, or our substance use disorder treatment program to offer holistic care for your emotional and physical health. 

PTSD in children

Adults aren’t the only ones who experience PTSD. Children and teens can also be affected. Older children who have been through a traumatic event usually experience symptoms similar to those adults experience.

They can also be prone to experiencing behavioral changes, causing them to act outside their norm. This can include behaving in ways that are disrespectful, disruptive, or even destructive to themselves or others.

Because their minds and emotions aren’t fully developed, young children often experience distinct PTSD symptoms. This can include:

• Becoming clingy with parents and other trusted adults
• Bedwetting or having accidents even if they’re toilet-trained
• Forgetting how to communicate or being afraid to communicate
• Representing the trauma in their play and art

We can connect families of children with PTSD to caring providers who specialize in childhood traumas. Our behavioral health specialists offer age-appropriate care that allows your child to overcome trauma, learn ways to manage stress, and how to address their fears. We want all children and teens to live emotionally healthy lives and have fulfilling childhoods.