“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions.”
—Susan Pease Banitt —
Trauma can have a lasting impact on the person involved. Often, people spend weeks feeling on-edge. But, if the aftermath of the trauma you’ve experienced persists beyond a few months and debilitates you completely, then there’s a very high chance you may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is a condition that occurs after a person has experienced a highly traumatising event. This event could be torture, grievous injury, sexual assault, or experiences of war. The negative experiences leave behind feelings of hopelessness, fear, latent anger and disgust. Over a period of time, these feelings increase the individual’s anxiety and may lead to depression.
5 Facts
1.
According to a 2014 study, PTSD is prevalent in 7.2% of the Australian population
2.
In cases of childhood sexual assault or torture, lifetime PTSD is present in almost 50% of the affected population
3.
Based on reports by the Australian Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health, 40% of all PTSD cases have a delayed onset – which means, you may not even realise that you have PTSD until many years after the trauma
4.
Serious car accidents are the number one cause of PTSD in Australia
5.
Women are more vulnerable to PTSD than men
Reference
Watch out for these symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Recurring memories of the trauma or complete blackout of portions of memory pertaining to the event
Flashbacks and nightmares
Feeling paralysed by feelings of helplessness, guilt and fear
Anger and disgust that leads to increased irritability and agitation
Extreme physical or emotional reactions to people or things or events that are reminiscent of the trauma
High avoidance behaviour
Extremely negative thoughts about self
Self-destructive behaviour or suicidal tendencies
Feeling isolated and mentally detached from loved ones
Complete disinterest in life
Emotionally numb
Changes in eating and sleeping patterns
Increased bedwetting (especially in children)
Our holistic approach to management of PTSD
Our psychiatrists, psychologists and allied health professionals will work with you to help you manage your Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Psychiatric treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
At Mind Oasis, we have a team of talented and experienced psychiatrists and psychologists who can help patients safely revisit their harrowing experiences.
Our psychiatrists will assess your behaviours, symptoms and feelings and prescribe medication that can help you manage your symptoms. Our psychiatrists may prescribe medications if appropriate. These will help you control your symptoms such as panic attacks, nightmares and resultant insomnia that PTSD can cause.
In addition to this, our psychiatrists can also treat anxiety, depression and stress-related conditions with medication. Often, PTSD patients develop drug or alcohol addiction. Our team can help you overcome the addiction with the appropriate treatment. If you require hospitalisation and care, our psychiatrists can refer you to our affiliated St John of God Burwood Hospital.
Psychological intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
We provide a safe place for you to talk about your trauma and your feelings. We use a combination of Cognitive Behaviour Therapies (CBTs) to help you look at your trauma in a new light and to empower you to free yourself from its clutches.
If appropriate, we will use other therapies like Imaginal Exposure and Desensitisation, where we will train you in grounding strategies that can help you manage your negative emotions and focus on regaining control over your present state of mind. We could also use Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing technique, which trains you to think positive thoughts anytime you think of the trauma. This is perfect for people who don’t wish to or can’t talk about the event but need a coping mechanism.