Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) takes a high toll on veterans, but any adult can develop the same symptoms after experiencing a traumatic event. Audra Worthington, MSN, PMHNP-BC, and Tammy Lewis, PMHNP-BC, at Sage Mental Wellness specialize in helping people with PTSD recover from their experience, overcome their symptoms, and regain their life. To schedule an in-person or telemedicine appointment, call the office in Hagerstown or Frederick, Maryland, or book online today
PTSD is a mental health condition that occurs after you experience or witness a dangerous or life-threatening event. You can also develop PTSD if exposed to ongoing, severe stress.
The traumatic events that commonly lead to PTSD include:
Everyone who goes through a traumatic event has feelings like anxiety, dread, and grief for a time. However, these natural reactions should improve. If your symptoms don’t get better or become more severe, you may have PTSD.
PTSD causes ongoing anxiety and other recurring symptoms that often come and go, sometimes causing a serious flare-up of emotional reactions.
In addition to anxiety, PTSD causes:
These symptoms suddenly intrude into your life, making you relive the traumatic event through flashbacks, nightmares, and uncontrollable bursts of memories.
Negative symptoms include anxiety and depression. You may also feel guilt or shame because you believe you could have done something to prevent the traumatic event.
Most people with PTSD stay on high alert, remaining hypervigilant and on edge as they watch for anything that might trigger their PTSD symptoms. You may have a hard time sleeping or have uncharacteristic bursts of anger.
Avoidance refers to the intense need to avoid the people, places, and activities that remind you of the traumatic event. These symptoms may be so intense that you change your daily routine and stay away from work and other important activities.
Sage Mental Wellness values genuinely individualized care that supports the whole person. Your provider completes a psychiatric evaluation, learns about your concerns and goals, and then works with you to create a tailored treatment plan.
The Sage Mental Wellness team is highly skilled in several therapeutic techniques proven to help people overcome PTSD. They may recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused therapies, or other approaches that meet your unique needs.
The team also provides medication management. Several medications may improve PTSD symptoms, but each person responds differently. For this reason, you may want to consider pharmacogenomic testing to learn how your genes affect drug metabolism.
You can recover from PTSD with compassionate care at Sage Mental Wellness. Call or book an appointment online today.