Exis Recovery

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PTSD

Emotional outbursts, flashbacks, and other debilitating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can leave you feeling isolated and may cause you to abuse substances and engage in other destructive behavior. If you suffer from PTSD symptoms as a result of trauma, you’re not alone, and help is available. The caring team of mental health experts at EXIS Recovery Inc. in West Los Angeles, California, offers personalized care for PTSD that can restore your emotional balance so you can engage with others and perform daily tasks without distress. Don’t wait to schedule a confidential consultation. Call the office for an appointment today.

PTSD Q & A

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that develops after someone experiences a traumatic event. Feelings such as grief, anger, or fear following trauma are normal emotions that typically subside as time passes. 

When these feelings don’t go away, and additional symptoms arise and begin to interfere with daily life and personal relationships, it can indicate the presence of PTSD.

Traumatic experiences that can lead to PTSD include:

  • Combat experience
  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Death of a loved one
  • Automobile accidents
  • Natural disasters
  • Witnessing violence or accidents

Approximately 3.5% of men and women in the United States suffer from PTSD; women are twice as likely to receive a diagnosis of PTSD than men.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Distressing thoughts and emotions that don’t resolve after the traumatic event occurred characterize PTSD. Specific symptoms include:

  • Intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts or memories
  • Overwhelming feelings of fear, anger, guilt, or shame
  • A quick startle response
  • Reckless behavior
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Irritability
  • Recurring dreams or flashbacks
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Breathing difficulties

PTSD can significantly diminish your quality of life if it interferes with your social interactions, causes you to avoid social situations, or prevents you from meeting school, work, or family interactions. 

PTSD and substance use disorder frequently occur together, and PTSD is also associated with anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders.

How can PTSD be treated?

The experts at EXIS Recovery have extensive training and experience in providing outstanding, personalized trauma care. Following your initial consultation, your therapist designs a custom treatment plan using a variety of cutting-edge, evidence-based practices, such as:

  • Individual psychotherapy
  • Small-group counseling
  • Sensory-motor therapy
  • Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) 
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT)

Trauma-focused therapy can resolve PTSD symptoms by helping you to understand your response to the traumatic experience so you can integrate it into your memory without the associated negative thoughts and feelings.

The compassionate team at EXIS Recovery uses an integrative approach to give you all the tools you need to resolve trauma symptoms. This includes treating co-occurring conditions like substance abuse and other mental health disorders. 

In addition to therapy, your provider may recommend mind-body practices such as yoga, meditation, or massage therapy to relieve stress and promote physical and emotional well-being.

Don’t let PTSD prevent you from leading a full, productive life. Call EXIS Recovery today to request an appointment.