Trauma & PTSD Treatment

Mind Springs Health offers treatment for Trauma & PTSD at our offices throughout the western slope.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a very common anxiety disorder that develops in some people following frightening, stressful or distressful life events. Once thought of as a soldier’s disease, it affects more than 3,000,000 people of all ages in the US every year. It is characterized by intense fear, helplessness and stress and affects life’s normal functioning.

It is natural to experience fear after a traumatic situation and nearly everyone will experience a rancge of reactions after trauma. Most people recover from initial symptoms naturally, it’s when one continues to experience problems they may be diagnosed with PTSD. Not every traumatized person experiences PTSD and not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. The National Institue of Mental Health notes that some experiences, like the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD.

Learn how to make the first appointment below and start getting the treatment you or a loved one needs.

How to Make the First Appointment

Symptoms of PTSD

Symptoms usually begin with 3 months of an experience but can sometimes begin years later.

Adults & PTSD

To be diagnosed with PTSD, an adult must have all of the following for at least 1 month:

At least one re-experiencing symptom: Flashbacks – reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like sweating or a racing heart
At least one avoidance symptom: Staying away from places, events or objects that are reminders of the traumatic experience
Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the traumatic event
At least 2 arousal and reactivity symptoms: Being easily startled
Feeling tense or ‘on edge’
Difficulty sleeping
Angry outbursts
At least 2 cognition and mood symptoms:
- Trouble remembering key aspects of traumatic event
- Negative thoughts about oneself or the world
- Distorted feelings like guilt or blame
- Loss of interest in enjoyable activities

Children, Adolescents & PTSD

Children and adolescents can have extreme reactions to trauma but their symptoms may not be the same as adults. In very young children these symptoms can include wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet, forgetting how to or being unable to talk, acting out the scary event during playtime or being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult.

Older children and teens are more likely to show symptoms similar to those seen in adults. They may also develop disruptive, disrespectful or destructive behaviors, including thoughts of revenge

PTSD Risk Factors

Risk factors for PTSD include people who have been through a physical or sexual assault, abuse, accident, disaster or another serious event. According to the National Center for PTSD, about 7 or 8 of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Women are more likely than men and genetics may also play a factor.

How to Make the First Appointment

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