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Shari Cohn, MSSW, LCSW, SC, CSAT
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Reclaiming Sexuality... Reclaiming Your Life One step at a time |
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after someone has experienced a terrifying traumatic situation in which they felt intense fear, horror or helplessness. Among the events that may trigger PTSD are sexual and non-sexual trauma and abuse, car accidents, violence, war/terrorism, natural disasters and other situations that result in your injury, near death or feeling you could be hurt or witnessing injury, death or fear of injury to other people. Your response to these events is horror, helplessness and intense fear. PTSD can be considered an understandable response to a terrible situation. It makes sense that people who have experienced a trauma think about it a lot especially at first. They dream about and feel strong feelings about it. They talk about the experience to people in their support system. They feel afraid that the dangerous situation will happen again. They feel hyperalert to situations and people who remind them of the trauma. In fact this initial response is an important part of the healing process. Talking about your experiences to people who care about you and validate you helps you to feel less alone and isolated in your response to the trauma. Getting support as you process bad experiences has been found to be integral in healing from trauma. Some survivors of trauma continue to experience intrusive negative thoughts and feelings related to the trauma that interfere with their life. They continue to feel as if the trauma is present and the danger is still very close. They experience extreme fear and anxiety on a frequent basis. Triggers that remind them of the trauma torment them and make functioning difficult. They vacillate between constantly being in a physiological and psychological fight or flight response and a shut down or freezing response. Life can become very challenging. Given enough stress and trauma everyone is vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder. What are signs and symptoms of PTSD?Among the symptoms of PTSD are:
Not everyone who develops PTSD has full blown PTSD all throughout their lives. They may vary from times when they have less or no symptoms to times of increased symptoms based on factors such as stress, anniversaries of trauma, events that stimulate upsetting thoughts and feelings again. Included among other problems that can arise along with PTSD are depression, anxiety and addictions such as alcohol and other drug addiction and sex addiction. How many people develop PTSD?Estimates are that almost 8 million American adults age 18 and older, approximately 3.5% of people in this age group, have PTSD. About one third of people who experience traumatic events develop PTSD in the short term after the trauma. Approximately on third of this group develops chronic PTSD. What treatment is available to help clients dealing with PTSD?Included among the issues addressed in PTSD treatment are:
What services do you offer to help someone heal from PTSD?I provide:
Where can I find out more about PTSD?Explore Shari's Bookstore Selections for a suggested reading list and the Internet Resources List that I have compiled. Visit Shari's Blog for articles, news and selected informational videos on these subjects and related topics including:
How can I contact you for further information?Here is my Contact Information and Office Information.
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Shari Cohn, MSSW, LCSW, SC, CSAT
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Providing Psychotherapy and Sex Therapy to the Greater Madison Wisconsin Area for Over Twenty Years Copyright © 2006 - 2018 Shari Cohn, MSSW, LCSW, SC, CSAT |