Trauma isn’t just found on battlefields and in combat, not by a long shot. Unfortunately, trauma is everywhere in our world, which explains why 70% of adults in the United States have experienced or witnessed trauma, to say nothing of the millions of kids.
From domestic violence to natural disasters, trauma touches millions of lives, driving one of the most common mental health disorders in the US — post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), diagnosed in 1 in 11 people at some point in their lives.
To help you recognize whether you or a loved one is experiencing PTSD, Dr. Neal Taub and the team here at Charlotte Ketamine Center want to look at some of the more common signs. As well, we get into how ketamine therapy can help release you from PTSD.
No two people have the same symptoms when it comes to PTSD, but we can group the symptoms into four categories to help you recognize unprocessed trauma.
With intrusion, you experience intrusive thoughts, which can take the form of dreams, flashbacks, or just unwanted memories that pop into your head.
Many people with PTSD develop avoidance, which means steering clear of people, places, and things associated with the traumatic event. Avoidance also includes not wanting to talk about the experience.
Many people with PTSD forget aspects of the trauma. As well, they develop distorted beliefs or thoughts about the event, such as wrongly blaming themselves or others. Or, they might feel no one can be trusted.
This aspect of PTSD can also lead to a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, increasing isolation, and feeling disconnected from the world around you.
This final category of PTSD symptoms describes new behaviors, such as being jumpy, acting recklessly, or having angry outbursts for no reason. People with these PTSD symptoms are often coiled and can be triggered easily.
As you can see, a lot can happen on the heels of trauma, and the resulting PTSD can affect almost every area of your life.
If you’ve tried other treatments for your PTSD with no success, it's a good idea to explore ketamine therapy. Ketamine can quickly relieve many symptoms described above — you can often see improvement after just one treatment.
Ketamine promotes the production of glutamate in your brain. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that can improve neural communication between cells and mood regulation.
With PTSD, our goal is to ease the stress response and help your brain better process the trauma so you can move forward with your life.
If you suspect you or a loved one is struggling with PTSD and you’d like to explore whether ketamine therapy is a good solution, please call our office in Charlotte, North Carolina, at 704-519-6918 to schedule a consultation today.
