PTSD Symptoms in Men
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been around for centuries. It has had many different names, such as battle fatigue and shell shock. While it is commonly associated with retired or discharged members of the military, it can affect anyone who has experienced traumatic events.
Statistics show that PTSD affects between 7 to 8 percent of the population. Men are less likely to have PTSD than women, but they can still get it. People that have PTSD can have signs that last a short or long time. They often need help from rehab centers in West Palm Beach that offer support to PTSD patients to get better.
What is PTSD?
Once you experience a traumatic event, it is normal for you to feel anxious, frightened, disconnected, and sad. However, if these feelings do not fade, you may have PTSD. The traumatic events can be on battlefields or from a sexual assault incident. However, these occurrences are not the only ones that can lead to PTSD. In these happenings, you fear for your safety, and it triggers PTSD, especially if they are uncontrollable and unpredictable.
Anyone who experiences, witnesses, or picks up the pieces after a traumatic event can get PTSD. It can also affect young kids who go through surgery, and they do not understand or accept the procedure. West Palm Beach rehab centers can help diagnose your PTSD, establish its cause(s), and get you past it.
Distinguishing PTSD from Natural Response to Traumatic Occurrences
Anyone who goes through a traumatic experience can display some symptoms of PTSD. For example, you may obsess over what happened, feel fearful, or have nightmares. Having these symptoms for a short while is natural, and does not mean you have PTSD. The effects of unnatural events gradually fade in days or weeks. However, if these symptoms persist, it may be best for you to get checked out if you have PTSD in a Palm Beach treatment center that has PTSD treatment as one of its services.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
PTSD symptoms often begin within three months of a traumatic event, but they can start later. PTSD treatment center West Palm Beach can diagnose you with PTSD if you meet specific criteria. Their guidelines come from the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fifth Edition (DSM-5).
According to these policies, you must have:
- Gone through a near-death experience, severe injury, or sexual assault directly, by witnessing it, by it happening to someone you care about, or during professional responsibilities
- Experienced these signs for more than a month:
- One or more intrusion signs
- One or more avoidance symptoms
- Two or more reactivity and arousal symptoms that started after the trauma
- Two or more signs that influence thinking and mood
PTSD symptoms appear in the following four categories:
- Intrusion Symptoms
- Fearful thoughts
- Nightmares
- A sensation that the occurrence is happening again and flashbacks
- Avoidance Symptoms
- Refusing to talk about the event
- Avoiding situations that can remind you of the incident
- Arousal and Reactivity Symptoms
- Angry outbursts and irritability
- Feeling anxious and tense
- Sleeping difficulties
- Hypersensitivity to possible threats
Signs that Affect Thinking and Mood
- Feeling estranged and detached from others and mentally and emotionally numbed
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feelings of blame and guilt
- Having reduced concern about life
- Mental health conditions, such as phobias, anxiety, and depression
- Inability to recall some aspects of the occurrence
These symptoms have to lead to difficulty coping with relationships or work, and they should not be because of the use of drugs or another health problem.
You may also experience some physical symptoms if you have PTSD, which are not in APA’s DSM-5 criteria. These signs include:
- Chest pain, sweating, stomach aches, dizziness, shaking, and headaches
- Sleep disturbances, which can lead to tiredness and other difficulties
- A weakened immune system, which makes you susceptible to frequent infections
A person with PTSD may have long-term behavioral alterations that can lead to challenges at work or breakdown of relationships. The person may alienate themselves, misuse drugs, or take more substances than they have been using previously. If a marriage is suffering because of a partner having PTSD, the couple’s treatment can be worth exploring.
Screening
When you visit a facility, the treatment center West Palm Beach may administer a screening test to examine whether you have PTSD. This test can last between 15 minutes to multiple one-hour sessions. The assessment can take longer if the findings can affect a legal dispute or be crucial for a disability claim. If your symptoms disappear after a few weeks, your diagnosis can be of acute stress disorder. PTSD lasts longer, and its symptoms are severe and may take a while to appear. With treatment, PTSD symptoms can disappear after a few months or years.
Causes of PTSD
PTSD can appear if you experience the following traumatic events:
- Natural disasters
- Military confrontation
- Personal assault
- Getting a life-threatening diagnosis
- Rape or other abuses
- Serious accidents
- Terrorist attacks
- Losing a loved one through violence or other causes
- Being a victim of crime
These situations can trigger shock, fear, helplessness, or horror, causing PTSD.
Risk Factors
While researchers continue studying why PTSD is widespread among some people, they have suggested that people with these characteristics are likely to develop PTSD.
- Having extra problems after a traumatic occurrence, such as losing a loved one after being a victim of crime
- Having poor health before or after a traumatic incident
- Lacking support after an occurrence
- Experience of abuse, such as abuse during your childhood
- Having a history of addiction or mental disorders
What Reduces the Risk
Experts suggest that you can reduce your likelihood of developing PTSD or get better by:
- Seeking or having support after a traumatic occurrence like from Christian rehab Florida
- Developing or having coping strategies after a traumatic incident
- Feeling good about how you act when faced with a difficult situation
When to See a Doctor
It is crucial to seek help when you or someone you care about shows signs of PTSD. It is easier to overcome PTSD if the person gets treatment earlier. Getting help to cope with the effects of a traumatic occurrence is normal. Treatment involves confronting the memories or feelings you have and finding a way to get past them. It is crucial to get treatment to prevent the severity of PTSD symptoms from escalating.
Get treatment when a person that has experienced a traumatic event threatens to harm themselves, they cannot continue with their everyday life, or they have PTSD symptoms that refuse to fade after a month. Some centers offer rehab West Palm Beach that can help overcome PTSD. There are various treatment options that these facilities use, such as medications, therapy, and alternative coping mechanisms to help mitigate PTSD symptoms.
Get Help from Ebb Tide Treatment Centers
Ebb Tide is a renowned facility that offers drug rehab West Palm Beach, PTSD counseling, and aftercare programs. These programs help people struggling with different conditions in society. We have a professional staff that uses proven treatment strategies to give you the best chance of getting better without complications.
Our procedures take a holistic approach to ensure everyone gets past a condition, its effects, and prepares for the future. We customize our treatment plans to suit the unique needs of each patient. Our gender-specific facilities provide a safe and comfortable environment for you to focus on your recovery. We have centers in various locations, including West Palm Beach, Florida.
Conclusion
A significant number of people that have PTSD do not seek help. This situation happens because of the shame associated with having PTSD, fear of having to relive the event while getting help, or not knowing they have a problem. PTSD is a condition that affects people that struggle to cope with a traumatic experience.
Its signs last for months, and people with it need help to get better. Ebb Tide treatment centers provide drug treatment Palm Beach, PTSD assistance, and aftercare for patients with various addiction or mental conditions. Reach out today to find out how we can diagnose and help you if you have PTSD.
