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Women with PTSD
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We often hear the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in regard to those brave men and women who selflessly serve our County. The term refers to a condition that develops with individuals who have been exposed to a traumatic event.
According to Dr. Lewis Spirtos – PTSD can affect anyone, “It can develop after any event a person may experience or witness in which there is death, serious injury or even the potential for such,” he said.
In fact, women are twice as likely as men to go through PTSD. A Woman’s chances of experiencing trauma are higher giving them a 10 percent chance of developing the condition while men have a 4 percent risk.
Women and men can also experience PTSD differently.
Women can experience a longer duration of symptoms, and more sensitivity to triggers reminiscent of their trauma. The most common precipitating traumatic event for women with PTSD is sexual assault while in men it is combat-related.
Both men and women with PTSD have a high rate of other co-morbid psychiatric diagnoses such as major depressive disorder or panic disorder.
In coping with trauma – women are less likely to turn to drugs and alcohol compared to men.
To be diagnosed with this condition - a person must experience the symptoms for at least one month following the traumatic event. Although, these symptoms can sometimes appear several months or years later.
Symptoms of PTSD
Dr. Spirtos says the symptoms of PTSD can fall into these categories:
Intrusive symptoms: include re-experiencing the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks.
Avoidant symptoms: refers to avoiding thoughts, feelings, people, places, conversations, activities, and triggers of memories from the traumatic event.
Other symptoms include intrusive symptoms, avoidant symptoms, changes to thoughts and mood patterns and symptoms of increased arousal.
How to Treat PTSD
Dr. Spirtos says that treatment of PTSD is usually a two-pronged approach consisting of medication and psychotherapy.
Often times, treatments using medications could include antidepressants although there are additional classes of medications that can provide adjunctive treatment.
The two most effective and commonly used psychotherapeutic techniques are prolonged exposure therapy (PE) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT).
Prolonged exposure focuses on retelling details of the trauma in a safe environment until the individual becomes desensitized to the cues that are triggering their symptoms.
Cognitive processing focuses on identifying and correcting distorted beliefs related to the trauma so the individual can conceptualize the experience in a more realistic and healthy way.
For information on PTSD or to learn more about mental health services and providers at Mercy Health, visit www.mercy.com/health-care-services/behavioral-mental-health.