my shrink tells me i may have post traumatic stress disorder. what are some of the effects and treatments there of?
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There is a quiz for the presence of P.T.S.D., via http://psychcentral.com Some of the symptoms include "flashbacks", hypervigilance, sleep disorders, especially nightmares, and just staring blankly. View the http://1-800-therapist.com/ & http://www.metanoia.org/choose/ websites, and Google:"therapists; EMDR; (your location)" or use the phone book, and/or various associations for psychiatrists and psychologists, to find the nearest one using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy). In EMDR, a therapist will ask you to revisit a traumatic event and remember the feelings, negative thoughts, or memories associated with it. While you are doing this, the therapist may hold up two fingers about eighteen inches from your face and move them from side to side. You may be asked to track the movement of the therapist’s fingers with your eyes. As you concentrate on the traumatic event during therapy, you are trying to bring its memory to life. The mental imagery you are able to conjure up during the therapy session is then processed, aided by your eye movements, facilitating the processing of painful memories, enabling some of the powerful emotional states involved to be discharged to some degree, and helping to achieve resolution and a state involving less painful emotions.
EMDR has 8 stages. Professional EMDR is always much preferable. It can be completely cured. Sometimes, a beta blocker, such as propranolol, or atenolol is administered prior to being asked to recount the traumatic event, reducing the emotional charge associated with it, as it is re-recorded in your memory (which has been shown to be plastic, at least to some extent, with many people). I suggest trying something milder, such as valerian, (some people get "valerian hangovers") or "Tension Tamer", or chamomile herbal tea (no milk, or cream!) from supermarket tea, vitamin, or health food aisles, at least at first, to see if sufficient, otherwise (SHORT TERM ONLY, as a risk minimisation strategy – potentially ADDICTIVE) a benzodiazapene, like Xanax. Check out medications first at: http://www.drugs.com and http://www.rxlist.com/ and http://crazymeds.us/ and http://www.askapatient.com/ If unable to afford it, or to locate one nearby, contact the county/local mental health agency: any therapy on offer may prove helpful, particularly if combined with appropriate medication. Contact your county/local mental health agency, and find out what help they can offer. (U.S.A.) Try phoning 211, or 411, and Google: "clinics; mhmr; (your city); (your state)" Give the EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. Use the searchbar at http://www.mercola.com "EFT" & "EFT therapists" and/or see the 13 free videos at http://www.tapping.com & http://www.emofree.com/freevideos.aspx for PTSD.
There is a version for use in public places, (if anyone asks, you can claim to have a headache, as you massage/lightly tap your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind: "Even though I suffer from PTSD, I deeply and completely accept myself.". Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is also recommended, and has been used successfully, with PTSD. Some people, however, may benefit more from psychotherapy, or counselling, at least until they are some way along the path to wellness, and feeling psychologically robust enough for the harsher CBT (a free E course in it, which can help reduce the time spent in therapy sessions, is at: http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome ). Use a relaxation method daily, like http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html or http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm or http://www.wikihow.com/Meditate or Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or yoga. Hypnosis is merely a heightened state of suggestibility, in which you are better able to communicate with your subconscious mind. 85% of people are suggestible, to some degree, so you could either seek professional hypnotherapy, or more alternatives along such lines are at http://your-mental-health.8m.com/blank_15.html where this came from.
Look up EMDR or my preference is EFT by gary craig, a free version is at emofree.com for awhile longer, and watch the videos at stressproject.org