Have you experienced a traumatic event? Do your reactions, thoughts, or emotions feel unfamiliar or difficult to manage? For some individuals, symptoms like these are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD. PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, significantly impacting an individual’s mental, emotional, and physical health. If you’re seeking support, Life Directions Counseling offers compassionate PTSD therapy in Spokane, Washington, to help you heal and move forward.

How Does PTSD Develop?

It is believed that PTSD affects nearly four percent of the U.S. adult population. While it is often associated with combat exposure, PTSD occurs across all ages, races, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds, with women experiencing PTSD at higher rates than men.

PTSD can develop after exposure to an event such as:

• A natural disaster
• A terrorist act
• An act of war
• Loss
• An accident
• Sexual abuse
• Medical trauma
• Ongoing neglect or emotional abuse
• Violent personal assaults

During a traumatic experience, the brain and nervous system shift into survival mode. For some individuals, this response does not resolve once the danger passes. As a result, the brain continues to interpret certain situations, sensations, or memories as threatening, interfering with emotional regulation, memory processing, and a person’s overall well-being. Thankfully, PTSD therapy from an empathetic PTSD therapist can help individuals regain a sense of safety.

What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?

People with PTSD often experience intense thoughts and feelings related to their traumatic experiences, which can last for a long time after the initial event. Many people with PTSD also relive the event through flashbacks and nightmares. Symptoms of PTSD can appear in different ways and are unique to each person; however, they often fall into several overlapping categories:

Intrusive Thoughts and Memories

For individuals with PTSD, the effects of the traumatic event can cause unwanted thoughts, images, and feelings that are difficult to control. Many people experience:

• Recurrent, distressing memories of the traumatic event
• Flashbacks that feel as though the event is happening again
• Nightmares related to the trauma

People with PTSD often feel intense emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and detachment from friends, family, and community members.

Emotional and Mood-Related Symptoms

Trauma can significantly affect emotional responses and overall mood, leading to changes in how a person relates to themselves, as well as:

• Emotional numbness or disconnection from others
• Reduced interest in relationships or activities
• Persistent anxiety, guilt, fear, and sadness

Individuals often avoid people and situations that remind them of the traumatic event. Ordinary sounds or incidents, such as a door banging or an accidental touch in a crowd, may elicit a strong, uncontrollable reaction.

Avoidance and Reactivity

In an effort to prevent distress, many people with PTSD develop sensitivity to perceived threats. As a result, they may experience heightened alertness, feel constantly on edge, and avoid reminders of the traumatic experience. These responses are the nervous system’s attempt to stay protected after trauma, even when danger is no longer present.

How Can PTSD Therapy Help?

There are a variety of approaches that can be used to treat PTSD. However, there are three specific techniques that are consistently gaining research-based evidence of their effectiveness in PTSD therapy:

• Cognitive processing therapy – This modality focuses on how a person perceives a traumatic event and processes it. A therapist can help their client work through stuck points, which are certain thoughts related to the trauma that prevent the person from recovering.
• EMDR – Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a highly effective approach for treating PTSD. This technique uses bilateral sensory input, such as side-to-side eye movements, to stimulate the brain to process difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – CBT is a form of talk therapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. The goal of a CBT therapist is to help a client with PTSD return to a place of hope with a greater sense of being in control of their thoughts and behaviors.
• Lifespan Integration – Lifespan Integration is a gentle yet powerful therapeutic approach that utilizes the natural connections between your past experiences and present self.

While PTSD symptoms can feel overwhelming, PTSD therapy offers a way to reduce the intensity of symptoms and better understand trauma-related reactions. With therapeutic support, many people achieve a sense of peace as distressing experiences become easier to navigate.

Ready To Take the Next Step?

Life Directions Counseling offers PTSD therapy in Spokane, WA, to guide you toward healing. If you or a loved one has PTSD and would like to explore treatment options, please reach out to me. I have personally seen amazing transformations through therapy and want to offer the help you need to enjoy life again.