May was Mental Health Awareness Month and on our socials, we shared information about different mental health topics throughout last month. These blog posts are part of a series where we expand on those topics and offer more information.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, more commonly known as PTSD, is a mental health disorder that develops as a response to a traumatic event. Currently, we’re not sure what exactly causes PTSD, as most people who experience trauma do not develop PTSD. We do know that people who were assigned female at birth are much more likely to develop PTSD than those who were assigned male at birth. We also have current statistics for PTSD: 3.6% of the US adult population has PTSD with 37% of those with PTSD having severe symptoms. It usually develops within months of the traumatic event and symptoms can last months, years, or even be life-long. Treatment is critical for helping to manage these systems.

Traumatic events that have been linked to development of PTSD are: sexual assault, abuse, witnessing a death, combat/war, terrorist attacks, being in an accident, and even experiencing the trauma of a loved one second hand.

Often, the symptoms are broken down into four main categories: re-experiencing, avoidance, cognitive/mood, and arousal.

Re-experiencing:

Recurring, intrusive thoughts about the event
Flashbacks
Bad dreams
Intrusive memories

Avoidance:
- Avoiding the place where it happened
- Avoiding people who remind you of the event
- Avoiding objects or other things that remind you of the event
Cognitive/Mood:
- Memory problems related to the event
- Negative self-image or thoughts
- Guilt or shame
- Numbness or depression
- Anxiety
- Derealization
- Dissociation
Arousal:
- Hypervigilance
- Easily startled
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep disturbances
- Irritability

Children have also been diagnosed with PTSD and we often see them develop it in response to many of the same situations that adults do. However, they can show some different symptoms such as:

Regression (for example, a toilet-trained child suddenly wetting the bed)
Unusual and sudden clinginess (usually to a parent or another trusted adult)
Re-enacting the traumatic events through play

Early diagnosis and treatment is critical for the best possible outcome for an individual with PTSD. This can help with reducing the severity of symptoms or even eliminating some of them entirely. Treatment can help the individual get back to a healthy level of everyday functioning and help them manage symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and many of the other distressing symptoms of PTSD.

Treatments generally include medications, such as SSRIs, and therapy. Therapy usually consists of some form of CBT (like exposure therapy and recognitive structuring) and EMDR. Learning self-management techniques is also critical to successful therapy, such as the ability to self-soothe and use mindfulness strategies.

PTSD can co-occur with other disorders like depression, OCD, panic disorder, and substance use disorder. Often, treating these disorders co-currently is the best way to see improvement, as PTSD improves with the treatment of OCD, for example, and OCD improves with the treatment of PTSD.

Want help with PTSD? Look at our list of clinicians and contact us to book an appointment.

Resources:

https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd#part_6135

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd

https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder

Our next post for Mental Health Awareness Month, which was in May, is going to focus on generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD. On our socials, we covered these topics during May and these blog posts are part of that series, expanding on those topics and giving more information. According to WHO, 4% of the global population experience an anxiety disorder. And NIMH reports that 20% of adults in the US have an anxiety disorder. There are many different kinds of anxiety disorders but GAD is the most common. However, there is concern that GAD is actually underdiagnosed because of societal stigma and lack of education about anxiety disorders. Due to the fact that many symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder feel primarily physical as opposed to purely psychological, many people mistake their symptoms for signs of a physical ailment.

It generally develops in adulthood, around age 30, but it is common across all age groups, including children. It’s diagnosed twice as often in women and people assigned female at birth, though at this time it’s unclear why. Some research suggests that societal factors could play a role in this.

Risk factors for developing generalized anxiety disorder include: experiencing child abuse or trauma, having a chronic illness, living with a lot of stress, and substance use (such as: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and recreational drugs). It often co-occurs with other mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or MDD, which we described in a previous post.

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

There are many symptoms of GAD to look out for. If any of these symptoms interfere with your daily life or relationships, it could be time to seek out a diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms must be present for at least 6 months:

Worry excessively about everyday things
Have trouble controlling their worries or feelings of nervousness
Know that they worry much more than they should
Feel restless and have trouble relaxing
Have a hard time concentrating
Startle easily
Have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
Tire easily or feel tired all the time
Have headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches, or unexplained pains
Have a hard time swallowing
Tremble or twitch
Feel irritable or “on edge”
Sweat a lot, feel lightheaded, or feel out of breath
Have to go to the bathroom frequently
Children and teens are more likely to worry about school performance and the health of loved ones

Treatment

Generalized anxiety disorder is very treatable, even in chronic cases. However, it is important to seek out treatment as soon as possible to ensure the best outcome. There are a variety of treatments including medications, therapy, and some complementary additions someone can use to help their GAD along with other treatments. Medications, such as SSRIs, SNRIs, and buspirone are commonly prescribed to help treat GAD. Benzodiazepines were once a common treatment but are no longer generally recommended due to concerns about dependency and limited long-term effectiveness. CBT and ACT are common forms of therapy used, often in conjunction with medication, to treat GAD.

There are also complementary changes someone can make that can be added to the above treatments. For example, some lifestyle changes like limiting caffeine and nicotine, can help reduce anxiety symptoms. Mindfulness like meditation and journaling are also often recommended. Getting enough sleep, exercise, and joining support groups for those also experiencing anxiety are commonly added as recommendations to traditional treatments.

With proper treatment, many people go on to be able to return to their normal routines and regain functioning and quality of life. The earlier the treatment, the more quickly someone can return to their lives and the more effective treatments are likely to be.

Resources:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23940-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad#part_6119

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441870

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/anxiety-disorders

Tag: anxiety

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Can Affect Anyone

When Worrying Takes Over: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Treatment