Are you looking for trauma treatment in Sydney?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment is needed if you are experiencing severe anxiety, low mood, intrusive memories or dissociation after a traumatic experience.
Anyone can be shaken by extreme trauma and loss. Devastation can happen very unexpectedly, and it’s near impossible to know how much it will personally affect you. When this happens, it is possible for you to develop some form of stress disorder. That’s when you attempt to cope by avoiding any stimuli like thoughts, feelings, activities, and even people.
Book an appointment online today to find out more.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined by the reactions one may develop after going through a traumatic event. This could relate to a number of experiences, including serious accident, assault, war and natural disasters.
It is estimated that around 12% of Australians will experience PTSD at some point of their life, with the National Service of Mental Health and Wellbeing citing serious accidents as one of the leading causes.
PTSD develops out of untreated Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), which develops within the first month out of a traumatic event and is generally identified by heightened dissociation. There are four main categories of symptoms that will develop in an individual suffering from PTSD:
- Re-experiencing the trauma, often through nightmares or flashbacks that intrude into everyday life
- Avoidance of people, places and objects that may trigger memories about the traumatic experience
- Negative thoughts or mood, including emotional detachment and a sense of hopelessness
- Excessive arousal, such as over alertness, anti-social behaviour and sleeping difficulties.
When left untreated, post traumatic stress disorder can bring about further mental health problems in an individual, such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
How to Treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
We already know how devastating PTSD is and that anyone can be a victim. But what can we do about it?
Throughout history humans have attempted to cope with trauma and stress in various ways including religious rituals and meditation. While these approaches may offer solace, they do not effectively address the core psychological mechanisms that can impair us from adjusting and living a happy life. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment offers more effective solutions.
A clinical psychologist can do the following:
- A thorough evaluation to find out what you really need. The assessment includes diagnosis of physical and psychological effects of the traumatic experience.
- Assist in your hospitalisation if things become more serious. Your doctor makes sure you are physically healthy to ensure the efficacy of treatment.
- Provide you with information and help you understand your disorder.
- Prevent Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) from turning into the more problematic Post-traumatic Stress Disorder through cognitive behavioral therapy. There is some evidence that shows psychotherapeutic intervention speeds up recovery from ASD and prevents PTSD if facilitated within 2-3 weeks after the traumatic incident.
- Perform exposure-based therapies. Prolonged exposure therapy is one of the best treatments for a stress disorder. Avoiding the things that remind you of the traumatic experience may make you feel better momentarily, but long term exposure works by helping you deal with your fears head-on. The therapy includes talking about the details of the event and confrontation of situations you have been avoiding.
- Help you learn skills to cope with the emotional and thinking changes following from your stressful or traumatic experience.
The procedures for post traumatic stress disorder treatment in Sydney are most effective if facilitated by a compassionate clinical psychologist. At the Institute for Healthy Living we provide a holistic and effective treatment of stress disorder that is tailored to your specific needs.
You have an innate ability to heal yourself. But you can only awaken that capacity if you are encouraged by an empathetic professional. The first step to take to ensure your recovery is to seek help.
The team at Institute for Healthy Living are here to help to provide professional, effective and considerate treatment. Book an appointment now to begin your journey towards a healthier mind.
