Clearing Up 3 Major Misconceptions About PTSD
June is PTSD Awareness Month- an especially important focus as we head into the 4th of July weekend.
It’s a month dedicated to raising awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a debilitating illness that can cause severe emotional distress for those who suffer. Unfortunately, the symptoms of PTSD can trigger extreme physical and emotional reactions like recurring flashbacks of the trauma coupled with intense nightmares.
People suffering might feel a sense of crippling fear even when there’s no present threat. One small trigger can bring back all of the horror surrounding the initial trauma making it hard to function. PTSD affects around 8 million people a year in the US alone. Those who suffer have been far misunderstood because of the stigma surrounding mental health.
Here are three common misconceptions surrounding PTSD everyone should understand.
Only Veterans Develop PTSD
While it’s true that many veterans are indeed impacted by PTSD, anyone can develop the condition in response to trauma. Military service members are exposed to violence, traumatic injuries, destruction at higher rates than the general public making them more prone to developing PTSD. However, PTSD does not discriminate and can occur in anyone who experiences or witnesses a terrifying and potentially life-threatening event.
People With PTSD Are Dangerous and Violent
PTSD is often stigmatized and associated with violence. People who suffer from PTSD are not inevitably violent because of their illness. PTSD is an anxiety disorder and neither aggression or psychosis are the main symptoms of the disorder. More
commonly, people with PTSD suffer from intrusive thoughts, trouble concentrating, hypervigilance, irritability, isolation, and insomnia.
It’s Impossible To Lead A Normal Life Again
There are plenty of people with PTSD who are able to hold down jobs, have fulfilling relationships, and live a happy life thanks to innovative treatments like IV Ketamine. Traditional antidepressants take weeks or even months to have an effect. Ketamine is an extraordinary rapid-acting-antidepressant that can have substantial benefits within just one day of treatment.
A further advantage is that accompanying depressive symptoms are also improved within a day of receiving ketamine. Thus, ketamine may be useful in PTSD patients who do not respond to oral medicines, and in those who require an emergency intervention for distressing and disabling symptoms.
Contact our COPE team of professionals to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation to learn more about IV ketamine for PTSD and many common treatment-resistant
mental illnesses.