Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of Anxiety disorder in which a person faces recurrent flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about a past event. It occurs in people with a history of a traumatic experience, e.g., rape, natural disaster, wars, etc.

The treatment for PTSD is just like for any other mental illness. Psychotherapies, medications, and some self-care tips can help you get over your PTSD symptoms.

Medications

PTSD can be treated with anti-depressant medications, e.g. paroxetine, sertraline, etc. However, psychotherapy is commonly the first choice of treatment for PTSD. The above drugs will only be used if:

 You refuse trauma-focused psychotherapies
 There's a continuous threat of further trauma or violence, in which case psychotherapies wouldn't work
 Trauma-focused psychotherapies aren't affecting you
 You have an underlying severe depression

If these medicines work for you, they'll usually be continued for a year and then gradually withdrawn.

Psychotherapy

For PTSD that requires treatment, psychotherapies are usually prescribed first.
These can be recommended in combination with medicines if your PTSD symptoms are severe or persistent.

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

If you're suffering from PTSD symptoms, you can look for an affordable cognitive-behavioral therapist Houston. These therapists would help you change how you think and react to a particular thing.
Trauma-focused CBT is a type of CBT that helps you explicitly cope with the traumatic event or its flashbacks.
For example, your therapist may ask you to tell the aspects of your traumatic event in detail to make you face your trauma. Meanwhile, they'll identify any distressing beliefs you've had about it, e.g., blaming yourself for something. Eventually, they'll help you cope with it.

Also, they'll encourage you to restart any activities you have avoided since your experience slowly.

2. Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr)

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a kind of psychotherapy proven to reduce PTSD symptoms. However, it isn't still clear how it works. Your therapist would ask you to recall the traumatic incident in detail while following the movement of your therapist's finger with your eyes.

Self-Care Tips

1. The first thing you need to do is to get rid of your feelings of helplessness. You can do that by any meaningful acts, like blood donation, planting a tree, or volunteering your money or time for a charity event.
2. Exercises or spending time outdoors can make endorphins release in your blood. These can uplift your mood and reduce your stress.
3. Reaching out to your friends is another way to recover from PTSD. You do not necessarily have to talk about your trauma with them. You can simply spend time with them to feel connected.
4. Keeping a healthy lifestyle, avoiding drugs and alcohol, sleeping well, and eating a balanced diet are other ways to improve yourself.

Conclusion

PTSD is a psychological disorder where a person gets flashbacks of a traumatic event, feels anxious, and has uncontrolled thoughts about a violent event of the past. The treatment for PTSD includes psychotherapy as the first choice. Also, anti-depressant medications may be prescribed in combination with psychotherapy or when the first line of treatment fails. Some self-care tips, like getting rid of helplessness, exercising, reaching out to others, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, can also help reduce PTSD symptoms.