Neurobiological and Physiological Symptoms
PTSD Symptoms for Women include a wide range of specific neurobiological and physiological issues. Overcoming PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is made more complicated than many disorders, as the changes to the brain caused by PTSD often result in significant changes to brainwave activity. Issues relating to memory, and a heightened (or, in some cases, reduced) fear response are also common in PTSD patients. These symptoms are associated with changes in two parts of the brain: the hippocampus, which is often decreased in size in PTSD patients, and the amygdala, which coordinates the body’s fear response.
Hyper-arousal of the sympathetic nervous system, sleep irregularities, and an increase in the sensitivity of the startle reflex are other known PTSD Symptoms for Women. Many of these symptoms can be kept under control using Medication for PTSD. As women with PTSD typically exhibit higher than normal levels of the hormones that control the stress response in the body, these medications are designed to affect those hormones, among other things.
Healthcare Professionals Helping Women
Healthcare professionals who help women with Overcoming PTSD are also aware that a PTSD patient’s thyroid can also become hyperactive, and that levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the body can be higher as well. Natural opiate levels are often higher than normal in these patients too, which is another characteristic of the overall distinctive PTSD profile, and can often be managed with Medication for PTSD.
Unfortunately, because many of the symptoms of PTSD are common symptoms of less serious (or at least very different) conditions (headaches, chest pain, upset stomach, immune system problems, dizziness, and discomfort in other parts of the body, for example), doctors do not always think to screen patients for PTSD and treat these other symptoms instead.
Symptoms very often accompany one or more other psychiatric disorder, in addition to the PTSD itself. In fact, a recent wide scale study showed that as many as 79% of women working on Overcoming PTSD met the criteria for at least one other psychiatric disorder. About half the women in the study who suffered from PTSD also exhibited major depressive disorders, and around 28% of the women were struggling with alcohol addiction or abuse.
Additionally, social disorders were found to be very common in women with PTSD, particularly those who had not yet begun a course of Medication for PTSD. Family and other close relationships, as well as employment relationships, commonly suffer in PTSD patients, and instances of run-ins with the law are also more common.
Treatment for PTSD
While there is no “cure” as such for PTSD, treatment centers for women use a range of treatment methodologies to help patients struggling with Overcoming PTSD. Psychotherapy in various forms is typically used in conjunction withMedication for PTSD, working together to help the patient move past her condition. Drugs commonly used include those to help the patient sleep, calm anxiety, and deal with depression.
Zoloft and Prozac are two examples of drug therapies often used in these cases. Cognitive therapies, such as group therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy have been very effective in helping move past PTSD Symptoms, for Women suffering from them, as well. Working through the trauma that initiated the patient’s PTSD is critical in these cases, and the therapies patients participate in help them to do that in a controlled, safe environment. This kind of an environment is especially vital when working with women Overcoming PTSD.
PTSD treatment programs for women can differ extensively in their methodology as well as in the long term results they generate. More than anything else, any PTSD treatment programs expressly intended for women needs to distinguish the fact that PTSD Symptoms for Women are often not the same as those encountered by men. Women tend to deal with emotions and traumatic events in a different way from men, and a facility helping women who are Overcoming PTSD has to take these differences into account. In fact, a number of trauma treatment centers have dedicated a part of their facility exclusively to the treatment of women suffering from PTSD. Other centers have dedicated their entire program to trauma treatment for women and do not offer services for male patients.
Wile women dealing with the effects of PTSD do not always resort to drugs or alcohol to cope with their issues, as stated above, it is not unusual. For this reason, PTSD treatment programs for women are especially effective when presented by rehab centers that provide addiction recovery programs in addition to PTSD treatment. Because alcohol and drugs can seriously interfere and react with Medication for PTSD, drug detox is often necessary in these cases prior to any PTSD treatment beginning. So, a rehab treatment center providing both drug and alcohol treatment programs as well as trauma treatment for women is very often the best choice for Overcoming PTSD.
Moving towards Recovery
To fully address PTSD Symptoms for Women and get a woman moving toward recovery, a quality rehab treatment center will develop a comprehensive therapy plan, uniquely customized to the needs and life experiences of each woman. The plan that the patient’s treatment team devises will include a detailed exploration of the memories of her trauma, which will help her to cope with the reminders of those memories. For this process to work effectively, it is important that the therapeutic work being done takes place in a comfortable, relaxed, nurturing atmosphere. The more comfortable the woman Overcoming PTSD feels in the environment in which she is getting treatment, the less overwhelmed she is likely to feel while thinking and talking about thoughts and feelings related to her experience. Certain types of Medication for PTSD can help with this process as well.
Another consideration when working with women and PTSD is, because the original trauma experienced by women suffering from PTSD so often relates to abuse or violence by one or more men, the environment most conducive to recovery can often only be achieved through a program in an all-woman facility. This is not in any way a sexist approach. An all-female atmosphere is simply best because of the necessity for the woman to open up entirely, and the common unwillingness to do so in front of males – especially an original trauma involved men.
Safe Harbor Treatment Center for Women is respected as one of the top PTSD treatment and drug rehab centers in California. If you or a loved one is in need of help Overcoming PTSD, please call for more information today: 877-660-7623
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