Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Living through a traumatic experience is difficult enough, but people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often feel like the anguish will never end.

PTSD is a serious mental health condition, or mental illness, and anxiety disorder that develops after witnessing or experiencing psychological trauma or a terrifying event. PTSD can also occur after learning that a traumatic event happened to a close family member or close friend. Approximately 3.5% of U.S. adults are affected by PTSD every year, and about one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime.

People who suffer from post-traumatic stress may experience extreme stress or fear even when they’re not in any actual danger. PTSD can interfere with relationships, work and social interactions. It’s a challenging and overwhelming condition – but it can be managed with the right treatment.

Post-traumatic stress disorder comes in two forms: chronic and acute. Acute stress disorder is a form of PTSD that occurs within one month following a trauma. Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), on the other hand, is a condition characterized by chronic post-traumatic stress that persists for months or years following the event.

Signs and symptoms of PTSD

There are a variety of signs and symptoms of PTSD. The characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder vary from person to person, but PTSD signs and symptoms generally fall into one of four categories.

PTSD signs

• Reexperiencing the event: This involves having dreams and nightmares related to the event, recurrent involuntary memories of the event, traumatic flashbacks, anxious reactions to reminders of the event or hallucinations.
• Hyperarousal: Hyperarousal can include anger and irritability, difficulty falling or staying asleep, being easily startled, having paranoia or having trouble concentrating.

PTSD symptoms

• Avoidance: You may notice avoidance manifesting as pulling back from close emotional contact with your family and friends, creating distance from people or places that are reminders of the event, experiencing memory loss about the event, or having feelings of detachment or emotional numbness.
• Negative thoughts and feelings: This symptom can involve having thoughts about the cause of the event or trouble remembering parts of the event altogether. Negative beliefs about yourself, others and the world as well as overall negative feelings (guilt, shame, anger, sadness) may be experienced too. This symptom is also associated with a loss of interest in activities.

There may also be physical signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder such as:

• Stomach and digestive problems
• Chest pain
• Headaches
• Dizziness

Additionally, people with PTSD may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb their feelings or avoid their thoughts. Alcohol abuse and drug addiction can become coexisting conditions along with PTSD. The intensity of PTSD symptoms can vary over time. Feeling stress or encountering a reminder of what you went through, such as a report on the news about a similar experience, can increase PTSD symptoms. Related words, objects and situations can also trigger these symptoms.

PTSD risk factors

People of all ages can develop PTSD and suffer from its mental health effects. Your PTSD risk may increase if you have relatives who suffer from PTSD, stress disorders or other trauma disorders, but there are many other factors that can increase the chance that you develop PTSD. It’s estimated that one out of every three people who have a traumatic experience is affected by PTSD.

People with dangerous professions – such as members of the armed forces and medical first responders – face a higher risk of PTSD due to their increased exposure to potentially dangerous and traumatic situations.

Many different types of traumatic events may lead to PTSD, including:

• Sexual assault
• Physical assault
• Childhood abuse and neglect
• Being threatened with violence or harm, including car crashes or natural disasters
• Participating in or witnessing combat
• Witnessing another person being hurt or killed
• Having little to no support after a traumatic event

Dealing with additional stress after a traumatic event such as the loss of a job or home, the loss of a loved one, or pain and injury can increase the risk that you develop PTSD. If you have other mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety disorder, you’re also at greater risk for PTSD.

PTSD treatment

If you or someone you know is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, Aurora offers compassionate care at a variety of inpatient and outpatient PTSD treatment centers for you to get help. Treatment typically includes a combination of PTSD counseling, psychotherapy treatments and medication.

Psychotherapy treatment

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): This type of talk therapy helps reevaluate your thinking patterns in order to identify the unpleasant, or distorted, patterns that may be holding you back. Some examples of distorted thoughts or assumptions include negative thoughts about yourself, always expecting catastrophic outcomes and overgeneralizing bad outcomes. The overall goal is to reframe those thinking patterns in a more effective, balanced way.
• Exposure therapy: This treatment helps you gradually and safely confront situations or memories that may be triggering or frightening due to a traumatic event. Over time, the exposures can help you learn to cope with your fears and realize they’re not dangerous and don’t need to be avoided.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): Used in combination with exposure therapy, EMDR produces a series of guided eye movements that help your eyes move in a specific way while processing a traumatic event. EMDR can help you heal and change the way you react to traumatic memories and events.

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Locations for PTSD treatment

Aurora Psychiatric Hospital, a behavioral health and PTSD treatment center located in Wauwatosa, WI, has programs specifically designed to help individuals handle overwhelming fear and anxiety.

Our adult intensive outpatient program and our partial hospitalization program can help you create tools to manage your condition and return to a fulfilling life.

We also offer mental illness outpatient and partial hospitalization treatment at our satellite hospital locations in Milwaukee, Muskego and Sheboygan.