Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a DSM-5 mental health disorder in which a series of criteria must be met to be diagnosed including: exposure to a death, a serious life-threatening situation, and/or sexual violence along with symptoms that fall in the categories of intrusive symptoms (like nightmares and flashbacks), avoidance symptoms, mood symptoms, hyperarousal (like always feeling on edge) or hypoarousal (feeling disconnected, detached and numb).
PTSD has the potential to severely disrupt a person’s life and well-being. It can prevent someone from being able to work and from having positive relationships.
PTSD was first written about after World War I when it was sometimes termed “shell shock” or “war neurosis”. Our understanding over the years has evolved into the term PTSD, first introduced around 1980, so that it can encompass not only the horrific traumas endured by our soldiers at war, but for the civilians who are also exposed to a wide-range of traumatic experiences.
There is hope and there is effective treatment. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is listed as an evidence-based treatment of PTSD by many entities including:
-American Psychological Association
-Department of Veterans Affairs
-Department of Defense
-World Health Organization
-American Psychiatric Association
At Turning Point Therapy, we can incorporate EMDR work into your treatment plan. This approach can help your system feel less emotionally triggered by memories and reminders of past events, as well as develop a more positive view of yourself and what you have survived.