Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, known as PTSD, happens when someone doesn't recover properly after a terrifying event. Statistics show that about 8 to 10% of people worldwide will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. If not treated, its effects can be overwhelming.
Dealing with PTSD is tough, but the right tips can make a big difference. It often helps to combine several methods, but finding a supportive and skilled counsellor should be your priority. Most importantly, you must be open to change for it to work.
Let's look at ways to handle PTSD triggers and provide other useful information.
Symptoms of PTSD Triggers
People with PTSD don't always show symptoms. They come at specific and random times, triggered by reminders of past experiences. These can be thoughts, sounds, smells, sights, or situations.
Common symptoms of PTSD triggers include intrusive thoughts, vivid flashbacks, panic attacks, and intense anxiety. Nightmares or insomnia might also occur, along with quick irritation and agitation.
Effects of PTSD Triggers
People with PTSD may quickly fall into depression if they experience these signs for a long time. Research shows that people with this disorder are more prone to drug and alcohol abuse and may sometimes have suicidal thoughts.
Individuals with PTSD often struggle to maintain stable connections with friends and family. They may also underperform in various aspects of life, like education, marriage, or jobs.
PTSD can become a serious health issue due to intense anxiety, high stress levels, mental instability, headaches, lack of sleep, and recurring heart problems. Additional effects of PTSD triggers include being easily distressed by small issues, making reliable decisions, and lacking concentration.
Understand Your Triggers
You can only overcome PTSD triggers when you understand what affects you. It's nearly impossible to be down with all of the above triggers. While they're different for everyone, most people only experience a few.
After you acknowledge one or two triggers likely to affect you, you can learn how to avoid them. For instance, people whose PTSD is activated by seeing an event similar to the old one tend to avoid such scenes, whether physically or via video. It all starts with knowing your triggers!
Treatment Centres
Visiting treatment centres is another effective way to tackle PTSD triggers. Various medical professionals with deep knowledge of PTSD can help you create a solid treatment plan. For example, regular physiotherapy sessions can help release past trauma.
Sometimes, a therapist prescribes medications to counter specific triggers, especially intrusive thoughts. Consulting with a qualified therapist or psychiatrist for proper evaluation and treatment is critical. You may want to check referrals or the performance history of an expert or facility before choosing.
Find a Support Group
For a reason, someone else in the world had/has the same PTSD trigger as yours. They have successfully overcome it or are looking forward to it. These are the kind of people you should associate with to help each other with ideas.
Fully recovered victims can guide you through the tactics they have embraced to heal. For a support group where you're all searching for healing, you can encourage each other while sharing ideas from different sources. Unity is strength!
Survival Mechanisms
You cannot avoid all triggers. For example, if PTSD is activated by loud noise, victims will unfortunately still be in such places, whether voluntarily or not. Therefore, it's best to develop survival mechanisms for such inevitable situations.
Experts advise victims to use breathing exercises to calm their thoughts when exposed to unavoidable triggers. Other techniques include quick withdrawal (if possible) and relaxation essentials like music or warm water.
Family Therapy
As a PTSD patient, whoever you interact with nearly every day has a significant influence on your recovery journey. For many people, it is family. First, it's best to be open about your PTSD triggers to your parents and siblings.
That way, you can work on it together more collectively, yielding impressive outcomes that would be impossible alone. Families and friends with unstable persons need to be kind, caring, and supportive of their loved ones.
Physical Exercises
Yes! Physical exercise can help overcome Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, especially in the initial stages. When your body is fit and active, it releases adequate endorphins to minimize stress levels, elevating your mood. That way, you'll be less vulnerable to various triggers. Some critical exercises you can embrace are nature walks, hikes, aerobics, swimming, morning/evening runs, and yoga.
