If you or someone close to you has struggled with a traumatic event, whether it is something witnessed or dealt with at work or even something that has happened to a close family member, it’s natural to feel some slight disruption to your daily life like problems sleeping, flashbacks or nightmares, and feeling on edge. However, when these feelings persist several months after the event, or they get intense and severe enough that they disrupt daily function, they might be signs of PTSD.
What is PTSD?
PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental health disorder that can develop after an individual experiences a stressful life event, something that is particularly traumatic.
It is important to note that signs of PTSD can happen to anyone who experiences trauma but also someone who witnesses trauma or has a close friend or family member who goes through trauma. The average American experiences at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.
Primary Signs of PTSD
People who struggle with PTSD often deal with symptoms that arise immediately but, more importantly, linger or worsen around six months after the event in question.
Sleeping Problems
One of the primary symptoms associated with PTSD is sleeping. It’s not uncommon for someone who has struggled with a traumatic event to experience disruptions to their sleeping pattern immediately after the event in question. However, over time, those sleeping issues can get significantly worse, leading to things like:
- Insomnia
- Hypersomnia
- Sleep disruptions
Tangentially, this can result in secondary signs of PTSD, like nightmares. Nightmares are a common cause of sleep disruption for people who have PTSD.
Flashbacks
Flashbacks are slightly different from nightmares. Nightmares can disrupt sleep patterns, but flashbacks can happen anytime. They occur when an individual is triggered by something in their current environment or vicinity, and that trigger reminds them or mentally takes them back to the traumatic event in question.
This can be significantly disruptive, leading to things like panic attacks.
Hypervigilance
Another sign is hypervigilance. Under normal circumstances, the body releases things like adrenaline when there is danger, and that spike in adrenaline will diminish once the danger has passed. However, signs of PTSD often include unnecessary adrenaline spikes where an individual is constantly looking for the next threat. This type of hypervigilance leads to unhealthy resting levels of adrenaline and can be significantly disruptive to daily life as well.
Mood Swings
Signs of PTSD can extend to severe mood swings, often related to disruptions in sleep, flashbacks, and hypervigilance. These mood swings are typically random, not caused by other things or triggered by a known source, and can be difficult to deal with in close relationships as well as work and school performance.
Secondary Mental Health Issues
People with signs of PTSD who don’t get help are more likely to develop secondary mental health issues, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Substance abuse
Alcohol or sleeping pills are often used to treat nightmares and sleeping problems but can quickly spiral. When this happens, dual diagnosis treatment is best, as it can provide care for the underlying PTSD and substance abuse concurrently.
Getting Help for the Signs of PTSD
If you notice PTSD in yourself or others, it is important that you get help before symptoms get worse. In some cases, untreated PTSD can lead to substance abuse as individuals try to self-medicate with things like alcohol or sleeping pills.
At The Differents, we offer dual diagnosis treatment for signs of PTSD and substance abuse. Our facility works to empower clients by utilizing evidence-based therapy and holistic care as part of individual treatment plans. Our team of qualified professionals work hard to cultivate creativity, focusing on holistic, luxury care that includes access to things like outdoor therapy, IV infusions, massage, sound bath, energy work, and meditation.
Let us help you reimagine your rehab with dual-diagnosis treatment for PTSD and substance abuse.
The signs of PTSD center on things like difficulty sleeping, flashbacks and nightmares, hypervigilance, and subsequent mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. It’s not uncommon for people with PTSD to also develop an addiction as they try to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. Thankfully, you can get help with The Differents.
Contact our team today to learn more about our withdrawal management and outpatient programs.
