Are you experiencing unusual intense fear, helplessness or untoward guilt lately? If so, you might be undergoing a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Basically, a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or also known as PTSD is a condition characterized by intense fear, helplessness, guilt or sometimes an afraid feeling (very common among children). Normally, PTSD is said to be from an exposure to extreme trauma or events like physical abuse, rape, an airplane or car crash, war or the like.
The Common Symptoms of PTSD
The common symptoms or signs on the other hand, typically start within three months of a traumatic event or sometimes in some cases may not occur until years after the event. Usually, the symptoms may include:
- Lack of concentration
- Being easily frightened or startled
- Unlikely shame or guilt
- Nightmares, particularly about the traumatic event that have happened before
- In denial feeling about the traumatic event
- Emotionally numb
- Anger or irritability
- Loss of hope about the future
- Sleeping and memory problems
- Poor and unhealthy relationships with others
- Divert attention to things that you don’t enjoy at first
- Self-destructive behavior, like drinking or drug addiction
- Flashbacks, or remembering the traumatic event for minutes or even days sometimes
Treatments for PTSD
Treatments for PTSD would normally include the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and medications.
In cognitive therapy, your therapist will help you understand and change how you think about your trauma and let you understand how particular thoughts about your trauma cause you stress and make your symptoms worse.
In exposure therapy, you will also have a therapist that will guide you all throughout. He/she will regularly converse with you about your trauma so you’ll get to learn how to control your thoughts and feelings about the trauma. Nonetheless, you’ll learn that you do not have to be afraid of your memories as they just from the past.
While Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR on the other hand, is a fairly new therapy for PTSD. Just like some other kinds of therapy, this can also help change how you react to memories of your trauma and eventually overcome all of them and live a better life.
In terms of the medications that will most likely be prescribed to you, there’s no problem as there is a wide range of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs nowadays.
SSRIs are a type of antidepressant medicine that can really help you feel less sad and bothered. Essentially, SSRIs include sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (such as Prozac), and paroxetine (Paxil).
My son was killed in action in Ar Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 6, 2006. A couple of weeks ago I was ready to take every pill in this house I was in so much pain.
My SOS rep. (Survivor Outreach Services called and was at my house in about 30 mins. While she was here she contacted Crisis Control and they came out. They asked me what meds I was on so I told her.
She looked at me real funny and asked me what anti-depressant I was on. Come to find out this whole time I had NEVER been put on an anti-depressant and she told me it was no wonder I was still so ~ more so, actually ~ depressed since the day I received that knock on my door.
Yesterday, I finally went to my Dr. and demanded to be put on one and was given Celaxa. Is this a good one to be on? One would think after 4 1/2 yrs. I would have been able to “move forward” but instead have been stuck in this deep dark hole. NOW I know why.
Would just like some advise as to whether or not this will probably help me because I can not and will not live another 4 1/2 yrs. like I’ve already done.
He was my WORLD and I died that day also. If I can’t get some help, am not going to make it.
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thanking you in advance,
Debbie Halstead
Proud Mother of a Fallen Soldier
Debbie:
I’m so sorry about your loss, but your son most likely would be terribly upset with you if you didn’t eventually move forward with your life.
There comes a point after you loose a husband, wife, child or close friend when you have to “choose” life and start living for you. Living for others whether living or dead is not a real life.
Meds are great to help and whatever helps you to find your path is good, but not having your own life is awful and not fair to you…as well as not fair to the memory of your beautiful son.
When people see others continuing for years to morn the death of someone they loved, they only see the end of that persons who lost their life rather then their full vital life that they lived.
Sometimes actions speak louder then words…it’s not about forgetting your son (that will never happen) it’s about you forgetting who you are!
It’s not about moving forward it’s about respecting yourself and the memory of your son to live a full life with gratitude and love for our fellow human beings! Give back! Treat yourself nicely!
Please take care of YOU.
Bu
Debbie,
You have experienced an overwhelming loss. Antidepressant medications are helpful and I hope you are feeling better on Celexa. Have you considered finding a qualified therapist who deals in trauma associated with grief? The combination of therapy plus medication may be what you need to give you the hope that you need.
I have been suffering from social anxiety for about thirty years now, and for many years I did not know what it was, but after reading a great variety of books about social anxiety, I discovered my problem, but I was afraid to take any drugs to control my mental condition due to side effects etc.
It was in October of 2010 that I talked to my doctor, and she prescribed Citalopram. It is now March 2011, and I have never felt any better in my entire life. I have not suffered from any side effects, and my anxiety has disappeared and only with a low dosage of 20 grams every night.
In fact, I am taking speech classes to regain the person that I was meant to be, a loving social human being.
Kendra Smith
Antianxiety-Drugs.co