The best place to start is usually your local doctor – your GP – or a mental health professional at your local community mental health centre. Your doctor will be able to work out whether you are likely to have PTSD, discuss treatment options with you and provide support and understanding.
A doctor who has experience helping people with mental illnesses, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, can diagnose PTSD. To be diagnosed with PTSD, an adult must have all of the following for at least 1 month: At least one re-experiencing symptom. At least one avoidance symptom.
The diagnosis of PTSD may be difficult to make for many reasons. Patients may not recognize the link between their symptoms and an experienced traumatic event; patients may be unwilling to disclose the event; or the presentation may be obscured by depression, substance abuse, or other comorbidities.
The GP can be particularly helpful in addressing some of the barriers to accessing treatment by giving some key messages, including reassuring those with probable PTSD that the condition is treatable, providing information about treatment options, and making people aware that they can self-refer through Improving ...
Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better.
A person with PTSD has four main types of difficulties: Re-living the traumatic event through unwanted and recurring memories, flashbacks or vivid nightmares. There may be intense emotional or physical reactions when reminded of the event including sweating, heart palpitations, anxiety or panic.
It's normal to experience upsetting and confusing thoughts after a traumatic event, but in most people these improve naturally over a few weeks. You should visit your GP if you or your child are still having problems about 4 weeks after the traumatic experience, or the symptoms are particularly troublesome.
Specific Questions to Ask Your doctor. Talk to your doctor about the traumatic event and your feelings. Describe any scary memories, depression, trouble sleeping, or anger. Let them know if these problems keep you from doing everyday things and living your life.
Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault. Others are less clear. For example, if you were attacked on a sunny day, seeing a bright blue sky might make you upset.
The doctor may refer to a psychiatrist or psychologist. They will ask how long, how often and how intense the symptoms are, and what happened during the triggering event. For PTSD to be diagnosed, the symptoms need to be severe enough to interfere with someone's ability to function at work, socially or at home.
Without treatment, the psychological symptoms of PTSD are likely to worsen over time. Along with severe depression and anxiety, other serious outcomes may include: Increased suicidal ideation. Problems managing anger and aggression.
PTSD can be misdiagnosed as the symptoms or behaviors of other mental health conditions. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, acute stress disorder, and more, have similarities to PTSD. It is important to note that not everyone who experiences a traumatic event has PTSD.
Healthcare providers use one of three diagnostic tests for PTSD. These include the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Post-traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).
Full diagnostic criteria are not met until at least six months after the trauma(s), although onset of symptoms may occur immediately.
Symptoms of uncomplicated PTSD include: avoidance of trauma reminders, nightmares, flashbacks to the event, irritability, mood changes and changes in relationships. Uncomplicated PTSD can be treated through therapy, medication or a combination of both.
PTSD symptoms usually appear soon after trauma. For most people, these symptoms go away on their own within the first few weeks and months after the trauma. For some, the symptoms can last for many years, especially if they go untreated.
When you talk to your GP about your mental health they'll listen, give you advice and introduce you to a mental health service they think will be most helpful to you. These services may come from your GP surgery, a large local health centre, a specialist mental health clinic or a hospital.
Feeling jittery, nervous or tense.
Women experiencing PTSD are more likely to exhibit the following symptoms: Become easily startled. Have more trouble feeling emotions, experience numbness. Avoid trauma reminders.
People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.
People with PTSD may also experience physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, fatigue, muscle tension, nausea, joint pain, headaches, back pain or other types of pain. The person in pain may not realize the connection between their pain and a traumatic event.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
Your brain is equipped with an alarm system that normally helps ensure your survival. With PTSD, this system becomes overly sensitive and triggers easily. In turn, the parts of your brain responsible for thinking and memory stop functioning properly.
People can have PTSD even though they do not recall the experience that triggered the problem. As a result, such people may live with PTSD for years without realizing it.