Alternative Approaches to Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The sad fact of life is that often people experience some sort of traumatic event. These events can be difficult to deal with in the short term, but in certain cases, these traumatic events have long term ramifications that can cripple a person with feelings of anger, resentment,fear, anxiety and more.While these sort of events have been happening to people since man walked the planet it was only very recently that it has been given a name, and that name is post traumatic stress disorder. Now, it is worth noting that not everyone who witnesses a traumatic event will suffer from PTSD. Everyone, at least initially, will react negatively to a traumatic event or situation. However, it becomes PTSD when the event continues to affect you in the long term.The reality is that while most people have heard of post traumatic stress disorder, many people are glaringly unaware of what precisely it is. This particular disorder happens when a person experiences an event or situation that threatens the persons or makes them feel helpless. This disorder is very common in combat soldiers; however, anyone who has experienced a traumatic event such as an accident, natural disaster, rape, kidnapping or physical abuse is prone to this disorder.When it comes to the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, most of the time there are combination treatments of therapy and drugs. However, it is much more common these days for more drug free approaches to the treatment of PTSD. This is largely due to the fact that certain drugs used for the treatment of physiological disorders have been know to have some very serious and difficult side effects.In many cases, people are eliminating the drugs and going strictly with things like cognitive behavioral therapy or family counseling. There has also be a movement to try neurofeedback therapy to help control the brain. However, one of the most intriguing approaches is a do it yourself method.One such method was developed at the University of Texas at Austin. This approach requires the sufferer of PTSD to make journal entries in at least 15 minute intervals every day for several months in order to describe the PTSD. What this does is allows the language part of the brain to access the part of the brain that stores these feelings of trauma and allows for healing to take place.Another approach to treating PTSD is with guided imagery. While this can be a long and very complicated treatment to follow it has enjoyed some fantastic success. Basically, the person with PSTD imagines themselves today going back to visit the person they were when the traumatic event happened.If the trauma involves another person such as an abuser, then they will need to remove that person from the imagine before you can move forward. Once they are gone, the person then approaches themselves in the past.At this point, the person with PTSD asks their imaginary self to come to a new place, either real or imaginary. Often this is the most difficult part because it is hard to break the "imagined" version to co operate. However, once the imaginary person is willing to move on, the healing can begin. Essentially they are their own therapist.While these are very exciting and effective methods of treating post traumatic stress disorder they are not miracle cures. There will be a lot of work that needs to be done and these approaches can take time. However, if you or someone you know has PTSD and wants to stay clear of any suspect drugs meant to water you down and numb you, then these approaches are an excellent option.