Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
It is normal to have stress reactions after a traumatic event, you may feel numb, be in shock, or feel you do not have control of your emotions. Your emotions and behavior can change in ways that are upsetting to you. Even though most people have stress reactions following a trauma, they get better in time.
You should seek help if symptoms:
- Last longer than three months
- Cause you great distress
- Disrupt your work or home life
Symptoms of PTSD
Symptoms of PTSD may disrupt your life and make it hard to continue with your daily activities. You may find it hard just to get through the day. Memories of the traumatic event can come back at any time. You may feel the same fear and horror you did when the event took place.
Do you… try to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the traumatic event. You may even avoid talking or thinking about the event.
The way you think about yourself and others can change because of the trauma. This symptom has many aspects, including a tell-tale sign of feeling jittery, or always alert and on the lookout for danger. You might suddenly become angry or irritable. This is known as hyperarousal.
There are four types of PTSD symptoms:
Avoiding situations that remind you of the event
You may avoid crowds because they feel dangerous. You may avoid driving if you were in a car accident or if your military convoy was bombed. If you were in an earthquake, you may avoid watching movies about earthquakes. You may keep very busy or avoid seeking help because it keeps you from having to think or talk about the event.
Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms)
You may have nightmares. You may feel like you are going through the event again. This is called a flashback. You may see, hear, or smell something that causes you to relive the event. This is called a trigger. News reports, seeing an accident, or hearing a car backfire are examples of triggers.
Negative changes in beliefs and feelings
You may not have positive or loving feelings toward other people and may stay away from relationships. You may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them. You may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.
Feeling keyed up (aka, hyperarousal)
You may have a hard time sleeping. You may have trouble concentrating. You may be startled by a loud noise or surprise. You might want to have your back to a wall in a restaurant or waiting room.
What should I do if I have symptoms of PTSD?
PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event. But for some people, they may not happen until months or years after the trauma. Symptoms may come and go over many years. So, you should keep track of your symptoms and talk to someone you trust about them.
If you have symptoms that last longer than four weeks, cause you great distress, or disrupt your work or home life, you should seek professional help from your primary doctor or a licensed mental health counselor.
We have an alternative solution.
Neurofeedback can reduce anxiety from PTSD symptoms.
Research
Research has shown that the overall effectiveness of neurofeedback for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults and children suggest that neurofeedback is a very promising approach to treatment.
Peniston and Kulkosky (1991) added thirty 30-minute sessions of alpha/theta EEG biofeedback training to the traditional VA hospital treatment provided to a group of PTSD Vietnam combat veterans, and compared them at 30 month follow-up with a contrast group who only received traditional treatment. On follow-up, all 14 traditional treatment patients had relapsed and been rehospitalized, while only 3 of 15 neurofeedback training patients had relapsed. While all 14 patients treated with neurofeedback had decreased their medication requirements by follow-up, among traditionally treated patients, only one patient decreased medication needs, two reported no change, and 10 required more psychiatric medications. On the MMPI, neurofeedback training patients improved significantly on all 10 clinical scales–dramatically on many of them–while there were no significant improvements on any scales in the traditional treatment group.
Othmer (2009) showed the pre- and post-training comparisons after 24 sessions with veteran K. in the journal article, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – The Neurofeedback Remedy.
Othmer (2008) discussed that “The utility of EEG feedback or Neurofeedback in the resolution of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has already been established in research going back more than a decade. We now use it routinely with veterans in connection with our volunteer services (through Homecoming for Veterans – hc4v.org ). The world at large, however, remains to be convinced of the superiority of EEG feedback in the resolution of PTSD”.
Pretraining vs. Post-Training
