Dealing With PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
In today’s world and especially during the pandemic many people lost their loved ones due to Covid-19. It became a worldwide phenomenon. According to Dr. Anu Teotia, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Clinical Hypnotherapist and a Psychotherapist, “When a traumatic event like the death of a loved one, sexual assault, murder or suicide in the family or someone known to them happens, it may leave them with a feeling of completely devastated and having nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts (memories and thoughts related to the event, making them to relive the event).” It is clear that anything very negative that impacts our subconscious mind may cause PTSD. She goes on to say, “When the symptoms persists for more than a month, a person can be clinically diagnosed with PTSD. For the treatment various Psychotherapies like trauma-focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy targeting their negative unhealthy thoughts and resultant emotional trouble through cognitive restructuring, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, working at neurological level to heal the person and Clinical Hypnotherapy, which works at the subconscious level can be used.”
Through the ups and downs of life, sometimes people tend to suffer some kind of trauma that may remain etched in their brains for a long period of time or even forever. PTSD is a serious psychological disorder due to exposure to major trauma. According to experts, it can be cured and also, in a very subtle manner, be completely erased from the subconscious mind – sometimes through tools like clinical hypnotherapy and talk therapy as well.
“It is a group of behavioural and emotional symptoms which happen due to exposure of genetically vulnerable people to extreme environmental pressure, which their brain isn’t equipped to deal with. This results in poor sleep, repeated flashbacks of the events, poor functioning of overall body and extreme distress. It can be treated by medicine and therapy together. It has a good response to a wide variety of drugs,” said Dr. Bhaskar Mukherjee, Consultant Psychiatrist & Molecular Neuroscientist. On this note he clearly stated that the symptoms are very severe at times and need immediate treatment. Distress is the worst symptom and may cause other symptoms as well.
Dr. Samir Parikh, Consultant Psychiatrist & Director Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare said that, “To understand PTSD, it is important to understand the ‘T’ in this which is ‘trauma’ which basically means an individual who has experienced trauma, develop post trauma – a disorder which constantly keeps them under stress. This is the simplest way to understand it.” In his quote he has logically explained in a very simple manner what PTSD is. He continues by saying that, “Negative events to which people may be exposed to can cause this disorder. After facing the trauma people re-experience it again and again – flashbacks, nightmares, emotional distress if there is a trigger. There are changes in the thought processes and one may experience an anxiety reaction as well. One then tries to avoid reminders of the experience completely. One may feel isolated, there will be reduction in activities, significant sense of blame either to self or others, etc. Treatments include psychotherapy, medicines, group therapies are also effective for PTSD.”
