Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Treatment

The aim of treatment is to reduce symptoms by encouraging the affected person to recall the event, to express feelings, and to gain some sense of mastery over the experience. In some cases, expressing grief helps to complete the necessary mourning process. Support groups provide a setting where people who have had similar experiences can share feelings, and are very helpful.

Depression, alcohol or substance abuse (which commonly occur with PTSD), or associated medical conditions, may need to be treated before symptoms of PTSD can be effectively addressed. Behavioral therapy, a type of talking therapy, may be used to treat avoidance symptoms. This can include graded exposure and flooding, which means that the person is frequently exposed to the object that triggers symptoms, until he/she becomes accustomed to it, and no longer avoids it.

Medicines that act on the nervous system may be used to reduce anxiety and other associated symptoms. Anti-depressants, including Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, have proved effective in treating PTSD. Sedatives can help with sleep disturbance. Anti-anxiety medicines may be useful, but the benzodiazepines, a type of drug used to treat anxiety, can be addictive.