PTSD

If you’re troubled by flashbacks, nightmares, or fears related to a past traumatic event, you may have PTSD. Fortunately, help is available at Brandy Wadsworth Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry PLLC in Hudson Falls, New York. Psychiatric nurse practitioner Brandy Wadsworth, DNP, PMHNP-BC, can prescribe effective medications that may be able to relieve troublesome symptoms related to PTSD. You don’t have to relive your trauma or feel unsafe anymore. Call the office or request a consultation online today. 

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to a cluster of symptoms that are related to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, a life-threatening accident, or military combat. When you have PTSD, you constantly relive that moment of trauma by having nightmares, flashbacks, or avoiding places that remind you of where the incident took place.

Who gets PTSD?

Although the public generally associates PTSD with military veterans, anyone can develop the condition.

Sometimes, you don’t even have to experience the trauma directly. Even being a witness to a terrible crime or catastrophe can trigger PTSD. Any kind of trauma can disrupt your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which then keeps your body in a hypervigilant, fearful, fight-or-flight state.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Even when you and someone you know experienced the same trauma, and you both developed PTSD, your symptoms could be different. The most common PTSD symptoms fall into one of four categories:

Intrusive memories

• Flashbacks
• Nightmares 
• Ruminating

Avoidance behaviors

• Avoiding places and people that remind you of the trauma
• Refusing to talk about the trauma

Negative thoughts and feelings

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Loss of interest in former activities
• Distrusting or avoiding people
• Feeling guilty or ashamed

Behavior and arousal changes

• Insomnia
• Startling easily
• Acting recklessly
• Irritability and anger
• Trouble concentrating
• Memory problems

Suicidal thoughts and actions are associated with PTSD, too. If you’re thinking about self-harm, call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) right away.

How can my PTSD be treated?

If Brandy determines that you have PTSD, she works with you to help develop an individualized treatment plan. She may prescribe medication or recommend therapy to help reduce or eliminate your PTSD symptoms. She also provides follow-up care to ensure that your treatment plan is effective. 

To explore treatment for PTSD, call Brandy Wadsworth Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry PLLC, or request an appointment online today.