Understanding and Overcoming PTSD: Insights from an Austin Trauma Therapist
PTSD makes you feel alone, like your watching your life instead of participating in it. You world gets smaller and smaller. Working with an Austin trauma therapist can help you ease back into your life and feel like yourself again.
A Glimpse into the Impact of Trauma
Imagine a seemingly ordinary Friday night party. Friends are enjoying music and each other's company. Suddenly, a familiar song plays, and for Jane, the atmosphere shifts dramatically. Moments ago, she was engaged and happy; now, she's withdrawn, frozen, and abruptly leaves without a word, leaving her friends bewildered.
Or consider Jim, who instinctively hits the floor at any loud noise. Or Sally, who recoils at the slightest touch. Even a casual brush in a grocery store sends her into a state of alarm.
Are these individuals simply "crazy" or "weird"? While their reactions might seem unusual, they could be indicative of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite the profound isolation it can cause, an estimated 8 million adults experience PTSD each year (National Center for PTSD, 2020). If you're seeking an Austin trauma therapist to understand these experiences, you're not alone.
What Does PTSD Look Like?
PTSD symptoms are so troublesome that eventually people stop doing anything that triggers the symptoms. Avoidance is a way to achieve this but comes at a cost.
The initial criterion for a PTSD diagnosis centers on the traumatic event itself. This is defined as exposure to one or more of the following: actual or threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or sexual violence. This exposure can be direct, witnessing the event happen to someone else, learning about it happening to a loved one, or repeated occupational exposure (such as for police officers or reporters).
It's important to note that while most people who experience trauma will exhibit some PTSD symptoms in the immediate aftermath, a PTSD diagnosis may be considered if these symptoms persist for more than a month.
The Four Clusters of PTSD Symptoms
PTSD symptoms are generally categorized into four distinct clusters:
Intrusive Symptoms
These involve reliving the traumatic experience through flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts. These symptoms often intensify during moments of rest, relaxation, or while trying to fall asleep.
Arousal Symptoms
This cluster includes intense emotional reactions, difficulty concentrating, reckless behavior, and an exaggerated startle response.
Impact on Mood and Outlook
Individuals with PTSD may experience feelings of shame, guilt, self-blame related to the event, and a sense of hopelessness about the future.
Avoidance
This involves active efforts to avoid thinking about the traumatic event. This avoidance can manifest in various ways, such as substance abuse, social isolation, or maintaining a constant state of busyness to suppress thoughts and feelings.
While avoidance can initially feel adaptive, it ultimately perpetuates the cycle of PTSD.
The Historical Presence of PTSD
Although PTSD became a formal clinical diagnosis in 1980 with the DSM-III, its impact on human experience dates back millennia.
The earliest documented accounts resembling PTSD appear in Vedic literature (circa 5000 BCE). The Ramayana describes a man displaying hyperarousal, re-experiencing, and avoidance after being struck by an arrow. Some scholars have also suggested that figures like Achilles in Homer's Iliad and Job in the Bible may have exhibited symptoms consistent with PTSD.
In more recent history, soldiers returning from the US Civil War were noted to suffer from "soldiers heart" or "irritable heart," which today would likely be diagnosed as PTSD. World War I introduced the term "shell-shocked," and World War II brought "combat fatigue." The 19th-century ailment of hysteria, as described by Freud and Pierre Janet, almost certainly encompassed what we now understand as PTSD.
Even in fiction, the impact of trauma is evident. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, with its time-traveling protagonist, may have been influenced by his own experiences as a prisoner of war. In The Lion King, Simba's guilt and avoidance after witnessing his father's death are clear examples of trauma's effects. Similarly, Elsa in Frozen reacts to inadvertently harming her sister by concealing her emotions rather than processing them.
Common Misconceptions About PTSD
It's crucial to dispel some common misunderstandings surrounding PTSD:
There are many misconceptions about PTSD. An Austin trauma therapist sheds some light on the topic.
1) PTSD is only seen in combat veterans.
While initially identified in this population, PTSD can affect anyone who experiences significant trauma, including survivors of violence, accidents, and abuse. The unpredictable and fear-inducing nature of a violent household can share similarities with a war zone.
2) Everyone who experiences trauma gets PTSD.
While most trauma survivors will experience some initial PTSD symptoms, many will recover naturally without intervention. Only a subset will go on to develop full PTSD.
3) If a person develops PTSD, they are weak or broken.
The development of PTSD is complex and not necessarily indicative of personal weakness. Factors like early-life adversity and invalidating environments can significantly impact vulnerability. Emerging research also suggests potential biological predispositions.
4) Everyone with PTSD is violent.
This harmful stereotype misrepresents the condition. Avoidance is a core feature of PTSD, and while it can sometimes manifest in outwardly destructive behaviors, it can also appear as seemingly adaptive behaviors like overworking or excessive caregiving.
5) If a person's trauma seems comparatively less than another person's, the first person should not have PTSD.
The impact of trauma is subjective. There is no objective scale to measure the "badness" of trauma. Any experience that overwhelms an individual's coping mechanisms can lead to PTSD.
6) A person must experience trauma directly to get PTSD.
Witnessing trauma, learning about trauma affecting loved ones, or repeated occupational exposure to traumatic details can also lead to PTSD.
Hope and Healing: Overcoming PTSD with an Austin Trauma Therapist
The crucial message is that PTSD is highly treatable. The two most evidence-based therapies for PTSD are Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE).
My clients say, again and again, that they feel lighter after this work is done. Work with an Austin trauma therapist to unload the burden of your PTSD.
As an Austin trauma therapist, I offer Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), typically a 12-session treatment. CPT is particularly effective for individuals grappling with significant shame, blame, and guilt related to their trauma. This therapy focuses on challenging maladaptive thoughts about why the trauma occurred and how it has shaped the individual's views of themselves, others, and the world. Trauma can lead to polarized thinking, and CPT helps individuals develop more flexible and balanced perspectives. For instance, someone might shift from believing they must either trust everyone completely or trust no one at all to a more nuanced understanding of trust in relationships. As self-blame is addressed, feelings of shame and guilt often diminish significantly.
Seeking Support from an Austin Trauma Therapist
If you are looking for an Austin trauma therapist and believe you may be experiencing the effects of PTSD, I offer Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Please click here to learn more about how I can help you on your healing journey. Go here to contact me to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation.