Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (cont.)

Medical Care

Talk about it: Early on, grief counseling can be helpful. Cognitive psychotherapy in which a trained mental health professional helps the traumatized person talk through the distressing event is also supportive. Dealing with the thoughts and emotions with a counselor is important.

Exposure therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. In this therapy, you are gradually helped to process your memories or cues associated with your traumatic experience. In other words, the therapist helps you "get back on the horse" and helps you deal with the memories—a process you may not be able to do yourself, even though you relive the memories yourself.

Medication: Two medications, sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil), have been approved for the treatment of post-traumatic stress. They work much like Prozac and similar antidepressants in helping to overcome the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

With medication or counseling and usually both, the movie inside a person’s head stops playing and fades with time. Symptoms may get better without treatment too.

Next: Prevention »

Printer-Friendly Format

|

Email to a Friend