How to recognize and seek help for PTSD.
Think of post-traumatic stress disorder as a group of psychological and physical symptoms that can occur after a stressful incident. Instead of getting filed away in your memory bank, the incident gets stuck, and your body is unable to let it go.
“If something is shocking and dangerous enough to a person, the trauma can become frozen or fossilized in their body. That’s where all of the symptoms come from,” says Pegah Moghaddam, a psychologist with Living Fully Psychological Services in Buckhead who specializes in working with clients who have experienced trauma. For PTSD Awareness Month, Moghaddam explains more about this complex health issue and how to seek help for yourself or a loved one after trauma.
How Trauma Impacts Individuals
Not everyone will experience the same event as traumatic, and not all trauma becomes PTSD.
Take a major car accident, for example. Some people might feel shaken up for a few days but then are able to digest what happened and go back to “normal” without prolonged feelings. Others, though, might have ongoing symptoms of stress, such as flashbacks and trouble focusing. “If that acute stress is not dealt with, there’s a chance of it turning into PTSD,” says Moghaddam, who encourages anyone that has been a victim of trauma to seek mental health help within three months of the incident, if possible. “There is a brief window of opportunity to prevent PTSD.”
Whether or not an event will lead to PTSD has a lot to do with adverse childhood experiences. Was a loss experienced, such as parents getting divorced or dying? Was there a lack of safety and security in the home with financial struggles or relationships? Was there abuse? “A person is more likely to experience PTSD because of a complicated childhood. When I see people for trauma, they’ve rarely just experienced one event,” Moghaddam says. She adds that those with mental health problems, such as a lifetime of anxiety or depression, are also more susceptible to PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD in Children
PTSD symptoms in kids can look very similar to those in adults. Younger children often reenact the trauma through play “because that’s how kids communicate,” Moghaddam says. “Look for that memory they’re holding in the body and any reliving of the event. They might have dysregulated emotions, feel afraid of what’s around the corner or not want to go to school or engage with friends.”
Where to Turn for Treatment
“Reprocessing the trauma is the gold standard for treating PTSD, whether that is through traditional talk therapy, a combination of talk therapy and medication or other methods,” Moghaddam says. That includes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a method that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the memory while a therapist leads them through eye movements to reduce the vividness and emotion attached to it. If you don’t already see a psychologist, Moghaddam recommends finding one through the directories featured on emdria.org or psychologytoday.org. For kids, a pediatrician is a great place to start to discuss symptoms of PTSD and a recommendation for a therapist in your community.
LIVING FULLY PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
678.459.4619
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