Many individuals experience symptoms associated with trauma or painful and traumatic circumstances. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after witnessing or experiencing a terrifying event. At Spectrum Behavioral Health, LLC, the team of compassionate experts will support you through counseling and various forms of treatment. They can help you overcome the symptoms of PTSD and guide you through the process so that you can truly heal. Call the Green Bay, Wisconsin office to schedule an appointment or request one online today.

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What is PTSD?

Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was first identified in soldiers returning from wars, but it’s not just armed forces personnel who suffer from PTSD after exposure to combat. The experience of physical and sexual abuse as a child, bullying, intimate partner violence, assault, serious accidents, and many other severe stressors can lead to PTSD symptoms.

The condition may last months or years, with triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense physical and emotional reactions.

What symptoms can PTSD cause?

PTSD can cause the following symptoms:

Negative thoughts and feelings

PTSD clients can experience anxiety, depression, anger, and hopelessness. Some develop survivor’s guilt, feeling they should have died instead of others. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide may occur and are common.

Intrusive thoughts

Intrusive thoughts include recurring thoughts, memories, images, and frequent nightmares focused on your trauma. You might also experience flashbacks and panic attacks.

Symptoms of PTSD might also include unwanted memories of the trauma, nightmares, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, heightened reactions, anxiety, or depressed mood.

People experiencing PTSD may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.

What is the treatment for PTSD?

Treatment for PTSD includes different types of trauma-focused psychotherapy:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Also called CBT, this form of psychotherapy is very effective and commonly used to treat PTSD.

EMDR for PTSD

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD is a trauma-focused psychotherapy administered over approximately three months. It helps to reprocess the memory of the trauma so that it is experienced differently.

The Spectrum Behavioral Health, LLC team guides the client through questions about the traumatic memory. Eye movements similar to those in REM sleep are recreated during a session. Experiences during a session may include changes in feelings, thoughts, and images.

After repeated sessions, the client’s memory tends to change, and events are experienced in a less negative manner.

Womens Support

An estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime, and women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD. Spectrum Behavioral Health, LLC provides excellent women’s support services.

To learn more about PTSD and the treatments available, call Spectrum Behavioral Health, LLC, to schedule an appointment or request one online today.