What Does It Mean to Have PTSD
Blue and Pink image with woman with curious expression on her face, arms crossed. Caption reading - What does it mean to have ptsd? Maybe you or someone you love have survived a trauma...and now issues are coming up that weren't there before. If you're wondering if this is PTSD or something more complex, read on to understand more. New Blog Post
What does it mean to have PTSD? This question can be very personal and maybe just as personal as finding the right anxiety therapist in Tampa or anywhere else, for that matter. Based on the media, I have seen that there can be a misconception about what PTSD is, what are the effects of trauma, and who it's likely to affect.
Let me start by saying that PTSD is not just for war veterans, people who have survived natural disasters or assaults. Trauma is, unfortunately, a lot more than that and can show up in situations beyond just these.
So what does it mean to have PTSD? How do you know if that's what's going on in your own life?
What is a PTSD Diagnosis
To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person would have been exposed to or threatened with trauma, like a near-death experience, serious injury, or sexual violence. This person could have experienced the trauma directly, witnessed someone else go through it, or may have learned about it happening to a close friend or family member. This also applies to first responders and people who see these kinds of traumatic events day in and day out.
The person likely has experiences where the trauma intrudes on their daily life. They might have distressing dreams or reminders that come up either internally or externally or experience flashbacks like the trauma is happening all over again. There is typically an effort to avoid these distressing thoughts, feelings, memories, or reminders about the trauma.
Experiencing the trauma will likely impact how the person sees the world and even themselves. They may develop negative beliefs about themselves ("I'm bad." or "I'm helpless."). They may blame themselves or often feel fear, shame, guilt, or anger. They may not be interested in activities they once loved, or they might feel disconnected from others and unable to feel positive emotions. The people around them may say that person has become highly irritable, reckless, destructive, has issues sleeping, focusing, or is jumpy.
Not every one of these symptoms needs to be present, but typically a person will experience a range of these after experiencing the trauma, and the symptoms last longer than one month. It can impact different parts of their lives, social life, work-life, home life, or a combination. And lastly, these symptoms are not coming up due to the use of drugs or alcohol but are a response to the trauma.
There's Help
I will be completely honest with you. It sucks that people go through trauma, live, and struggle with many of these symptoms. AND, just because something terrible happened in the past does not mean that your entire life needs to be dictated by it. You deserve better. If you've found this page today because you've been wondering if you have PTSD and are looking for trauma therapy or EMDR therapy in Tampa, I'm happy to help in any way I can. If you've found this page today and know that you don't have PTSD but are tired of struggling and want to heal from past hurts and trauma, I'm here to help. Click here to schedule a free consultation call. If I'm not the right therapist for you, that's okay too. My goal is to make sure you get the help you want and connect you with someone you click with.
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