Do I have PTSD?: Let’s Take A Closer Look
The most important thing I want you to know before you and I even talk about you having PTSD or not and it’s that you are more than a label. I struggle with diagnosis and labels because sometimes they can be crushing. My goal is to empower my clients and help them be hopeful about the future especially when it comes to trauma. On the flip side, sometimes understanding your set of symptoms and struggles can give you validation that what you’re experiencing is legitimate and warrants help and support. Men that I work with in therapy can minimize their struggles and think everyone must feel this way, and you just learn to deal with it. This doesn’t have to be the case for you. You don’t have to rub some dirt on it and walk it off when it comes to trauma. It’s also important to know that any event can have a traumatic impact on your brain. Your brain can be impacted in different ways and sometimes it’s unexpected. Please don’t dismiss what you’re feeling because what happened wasn’t that big of a deal. Unfortunately, our brain is the one that decides if something is a big deal to it or not and that’s actually not something you have any control over.
PTSD is not something that just happens to those in the military who have served on active duty. Anytime I’m discussing PTSD I have to reiterate that it goes beyond what has been depicted in books, movies, and the news. You and I will chat more about the causes of PTSD in a few moments but there are many experiences and events that can cause PTSD.
What are the signs of PTSD?
According to the DSM-5, the fancy book we use to diagnose people with PTSD these are the symptoms of PTSD.
Exposure
Exposure refers to directly experiencing a traumatic event or witnessing it happen to someone or something else. Examples of traumatic events include serious injury, threatened death, or sexual abuse. Exposure can be learning that a traumatic event happened to someone you care about with an emphasis on hearing pervasive details about the experience.
Intrusive symptoms
Experiencing intrusive memories, dreams, or thoughts related to the traumatic event is known as intrusive symptoms. Intrusive symptoms include having flashbacks and nightmares. People experiencing this symptom can even disassociate or disconnect from their bodies as a form of protecting themselves from intrusive thoughts about the trauma.
Avoidance
The avoidance of triggers, people, or places associated with the traumatic event is often a defense mechanism for people who have experienced trauma. Not only do people with PTSD avoid people and places associated with the event but they attempt to avoid any thoughts or feelings tied to the event.
Altered Mood
Difficulty remembering aspects of the event is another common symptom of PTSD. An altered mood also entails experiencing negative beliefs about oneself and the world due to the trauma one experienced. People with PTSD often experience low self-esteem, guilt, sadness, and anxiety. They also may feel detached and have lost interest in things they once found enjoyment in.
Altered Reactivity
Irritability, being easily startled, and engaging in reckless behavior are examples of reactivity. Insomnia and sleep disturbance are also common experiences in PTSD. People with PTSD also find themselves being more alert to possible danger and feel they are constantly watching their back as a way to protect themselves.
What causes PTSD?
The answer to the question of what causes PTSD is: it’s complicated. As humans, our brains are designed to react in a certain way to disturbing information. I don’t know that our brains are really meant to experience intense exposure to horrible things and when those horrible things happen to you, your brain will respond in predictable ways. The human brain is really just trying to process information when it reacts by being easily startled, replaying the event over and over again, or having nightmares about the event. If you are experiencing these events your brain doesn’t understand that the trauma is over and thinks it’s still present and a threat. We don’t know why certain people develop PTSD and why others don’t. Statistics state that 6 out of 100 people have PTSD.
The most important thing for you to know about PTSD is that there’s nothing wrong with you. You aren’t flawed. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you didn’t respond poorly to what happened. You aren’t weak for having PTSD symptoms. Your brain is just trying to understand and figure out what to make of what happened to you. You can move beyond your trauma and find relief. There is hope for you to feel better. Many people hope that time will make things better but the quote, “Time heals all wounds” is not at all accurate when it comes to PTSD. PTSD requires intervention from a trained professional to help you move past it.
How does PTSD treatment help?
Treatment for PTSD and trauma therapy are designed to help you resolve your symptoms. Many people who experience trauma are exhausted from not being able to sleep, from the horrible nightmares that come night after night even if they are able to fall asleep. Trauma therapy is meant to help you process the trauma and help you find relief from the knots in your stomach and the tightness in your throat that shows up anytime you think about what happened to you.
A powerful form of trauma therapy is EMDR therapy. EMDR is compared to playing fast forward on a DVD player when it comes to working through your traumatic experience. EMDR involves something called bilateral stimulation. This is a fancy way of saying alternatively activating both sides of our brain. It seems intense but we use bilateral stimulation to do many different things. Walking, typing, playing the piano, tapping your knees back and forth, and moving your eyes back and forth. Bilateral stimulation paired with bringing to mind the traumatic experience, the beliefs you have about yourself, the feelings you have in your body and your emotions all work together to help you work through the experience. I especially love about EMDR because once you work through memory with EMDR, you’re done. You don’t have to do maintenance work on the memory or experience. You’re able to find lasting relief through EMDR.
How do I support someone I love who has symptoms of PTSD?
If someone in your life that you care about is experiencing PTSD, it’s hard to know what to do to help. When you see a loved one struggle, it feels helpless to not be able to do anything to bring them relief. I hope you’re taking care of yourself too because supporting someone who struggles can be heartbreaking. Here are some tips to help you support a loved one with PTSD:
Educate yourself on PTSD
If you are reading this blog in an attempt to help educate yourself, you’re off to a great start. It shows you are dedicated to supporting your loved one. Educating yourself more on PTSD’s impact on the brain will help you make more sense of your loved one’s responses. Consider reading these books: “Getting Past Your Past”, “What Happened To You” or “The Body Keeps The Score” to better understand PTSD. These can all be found on your friend and mine: Amazon.
2. Listen and be accepting
Someone that has experienced PTSD may want to talk about the event over and over. This is because their brain is thinking about it over and over in an attempt to help them make sense of it. Listening to your loved one talk about what happened without acting annoyed or frustrated that you’re hearing the experience over again leaves a line of communication open. This is what your loved one needs more than anything. Be accepting of the moments when your loved one may not want to talk about it. Sometimes your loved ones will want to isolate and keep to themselves. Remember this likely doesn’t have anything to do with you.
3. Create safety
A common theme among people who are experiencing PTSD is they don’t feel safe. Not only do they not feel safe but the world doesn’t feel safe and sometimes the people around them don’t feel safe. Establishing safety in your relationship with your loved one is essential in helping them work toward healing. Asking your loved ones what makes them feel safe and what doesn’t can be helpful in beginning to implement safety in your relationship. Be respectful of how they feel even if you don’t understand why. Remember that certain things can be triggering to your loved one and being respectful of this builds trust and safety in your relationship.
Working with a trauma therapist is the solution
If you are reading this and realizing that you might need PTSD treatment and you’re located in Utah, the good news is that I can help you. I have seen many clients be able to overcome their trauma and for it to stop having such a profound impact on their daily lives. EMDR is the therapy model that I find to be effective in helping clients work through their trauma thoroughly and efficiently. I love working with clients when they are invested in doing the work to feel better and will do anything to find relief. Going to therapy doesn’t mean you’re weak but actually means you have the strength to work on your struggles. Attending therapy on a weekly basis when doing trauma therapy is the best way to get the results you are looking for.
Online therapy in Utah
Online therapy in Utah for PTSD is safe and effective. In fact, in some cases, online therapy for PTSD is even more effective than in-person therapy. It can be terrifying to have to leave your safe place to talk about the worst thing that ever happened to you. Some people want to be at home with their pets and sweatpants to do that difficult work, and the truth is you should be able to do that. EMDR therapy is effective through online therapy.
The good news is that with online therapy, I am able to help you regardless of where you are located in Utah. This means if you are in St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, Logan, or Cedar City, I can help you work through your trauma.
How to begin PTSD therapy near Provo, Utah?
You don’t have to keep struggling with negative thoughts and fear and anxiety. Therapy can help you feel relief and get back in control of your life. Reaching out for help is a scary first step. This Provo Utah Counseling Clinic has a trauma therapist that can help. I want to make it as easy on you as possible. I also want to make sure I can help you with what you’re struggling with. To begin therapy follow the following steps:
Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with Marcus Hunt
Complete online forms and schedule the first session with a mental health expert
Begin PTSD treatment
Other mental health services provided by Marcus Hunt Therapy
PTSD treatment isn’t the only service I offer at this Provo Utah Counseling Clinic Other mental health services provided by Marcus Hunt Therapy include: EMDR and trauma therapy, premarital counseling, marriage counseling, marriage counseling for LDS couples, therapy for men, and anxiety treatment.
About the Author
Marcus Hunt is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at Marcus Hunt Therapy. Marcus believes in providing men who have experienced a traumatic event and suffer from the symptoms of PTSD with good quality trauma-informed care. Marcus has specialized training in EMDR and utilizes this type of therapy to help clients heal from the devastating impact of trauma. He believes it’s possible for men to get their lives back and for the trauma not to impact their relationships. Marcus graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor's degree in behavioral science and received his master's in marriage and family therapy from Abilene Christian University.