Hypnotherapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

All of us will suffer our fair share of stresses, strains and difficult situations. For most of us, recovery from these events will be a natural process which occurs over time, without the need for further help. For others however, certain traumatic and frightening events can trigger a reaction which can last for a period of months, or even years.

This reaction is known as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short, a condition which manifests both physically and psychologically and is thought to occur in approximately 30% of individuals who experience traumatic events.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

The term post-traumatic stress disorder is used to describe a range of symptoms which occur following on from involvement in a traumatic event. These events are considered to be both beyond our control, and outside of our normal human experiences. The event itself could be anything from

• Reliving events vividly
• witnessing a road traffic accident
• natural disaster
• terrorist attack
• victim of an assault
• witnessing harrowing scenes whilst serving in the armed forces

Whether you are present during a traumatic event, a witness, or a direct victim, the intense distress and helplessness you felt in the midst of that situation can have a deep and long lasting psychological effect and can trigger a series of symptoms which can seriously impact your life.

In some individuals the symptoms will develop very shortly after the event, but for others the onset may be delayed by a number of months, or even years after the trauma first occurred.

The questions frequently asked if young children can get PTSD. Yes they can also they may suffer from delayed development in areas such as toilet training, motor skills, and speech issues. Names given are shell shock and battle fatigue syndrome. However, People who have been abused as children or who have been repeatedly exposed to life-threatening situations are at greater risk for developing PTSD. Victims of trauma related to physical and sexual assault face the greatest risk for PTSD.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder will usually occur after an individual has been involved in, or has witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious road traffic accident, a natural disaster, being held hostage, a violent death, military combat, a sexual assault, or another situation in which an individual feels extreme fear, and or helplessness.

After events such as these, PTSD will usually develop fairly quickly, though for some, the development of symptoms will be delayed by a period of weeks, months, or sometimes years. These symptoms  can develop at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than are men. This may be due to the fact that women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, abuse, and rape

Symptoms can vary from person to person, but often involve the sufferer ‘reliving’ the event to some extent through a combination of flashbacks or nightmares. Re-experiencing the trauma can lead to sleep problems, concentration difficulties, feelings of isolation and depression and a variety of additional symptoms.

The severity and persistence of these symptoms will vary greatly from person to person. For some sufferers, symptoms will be interspersed with periods of remission and for others they will be constant and acute enough to considerably impact quality of life.

Hypnotherapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

As well as undergoing the treatment recommended by your health care provider, some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferers also find that hypnotherapy treatment is beneficial. Though there is no solid evidence to support the efficacy of hypnotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, many sufferers have experienced successes with the approach.

The aim of hypnotherapy is to help unlock ‘blocked’ emotion so that the trauma can be revisited and explored from a different perspective.

In most cases the most suitable form of hypnotherapy will be cognitive hypnotherapy or analytical hypnotherapy, both of which function on a deeper level than suggestion hypnotherapy and are able to work with the unconscious mind so that negative beliefs which were built up during the trauma can be explored and alleviated.

Do you feel any of the ones listed

• Reliving:  PTSD repeatedly relives the ordeal through thoughts and memories of the trauma. These may include flashbacks, hallucinations, and nightmares. These thoughts seem to take over during the day and night without any triggers.
• Avoiding: This happens because of situations can make the person feel uncomfortable and this may even trigger  symptom. This can cause feelings of isolation their social network gets smaller and evem isolation by not participating in activity.
• Arousal: Includes excessive emotions; feeling or showing affection; difficulty falling or staying asleep; irritability; outbursts of anger; difficulty concentrating; and being “jumpy” or easily startled.  Also increased physical symptoms such as blood pressure, increased heart rate, rapid breathing which can lead to hyperventalation, muscle tension, nausea and diarrhea.
• Cognitive This is thoughts and feelings related to blame, estrangement, guilt and memories of the traumatic event. As if it was happening at the moment by reliving it.

Cognitive behavioral therapy -Hypnotherapy – is a form of treatment that helps clear the thought process from negative thoughts and start to switch the mind into a more positive way of solving situations and making the right choices. through clear thought patterns.